


soaked on the bus

by Niall_SonOfApollo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Drug Abuse, Drugged Sex, Dubious Consent, M/M, Polyamory, Threesome - M/M/M, alternative universe, dub con, non band au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-02-07 07:10:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 25,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niall_SonOfApollo/pseuds/Niall_SonOfApollo
Summary: based on a tweet:"The one behind you is hot!""I think he's hetero."*opens Grindr*"... nope."or:Louis and Zayn are best friends with benefits and when they spot Liam on the bus and find his Grindr profile they know the fit man would be the perfect addition to their bed. But when Liam refuses to be nothing but a quick shag, Louis and Zayn find themselves with a lot more complications than they bargained for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello party people,  
> this is basically my first work in ten years,  
> I'm a work in progress :'>  
> (and so is this fanfic)  
> My native language isn't english,  
> so please be kind v.v
> 
> Have fun!  
> Tags are added along the way  
> updates will be posted hopefully every week
> 
> Big thanks  
> to Harold, who was encouraging me when the idea took shape  
> and is constantly motivating me ♥  
> to Lewis, who is my enabler and creative potential  
> and takes upon her to do the first beta in an instant ♥  
> and to kaze, who is responsible for the second and 'big' beta ♥
> 
> Edit:  
> I've changed the chapter count to 21 instead of 24, even though I promised to write some bonus content,  
> but atm I have neither time nor mojo, so I will change the count and add the chapers when I feel like it

Friday evening.

Louis was just coming from work and he was exhausted as fuck.

Jeez, these stupid customers he had to deal with today! How the fuck could buying a coffee machine be this complicated? Not that he would know, preferring tea and all ...

Anyway, Friday, finally!

He just caught the bus, thank fuck.

It was pouring down and he forgot to bring his brolly. In the back of the bus, he spotted his mate Zayn who worked as a floor model and Louis bet his arse that it was easier than his job. Zayn looked tired but dry - good for him.

"Ay mate! You alright?" Zayn's tired look slowly formed into a half-grin. He extended his hand to shake Louis' outstretched one.

"Week has been busy. These schoolgirls are killin' me, man. I just want to work in peace." Oh yeah. What a hardship, dealing with giggling schoolgirls.

"Right. Does our plan for tonight still stand?" Louis raised a questioning eyebrow while asking. Weekend was party-time.

Zayn tried to answer, which could take some time with his slow drawl, but was interrupted by the loud beeping of the doors opening at the next stop.

At first, they paid no attention to the entering passengers until one particular bloke sat down near them.

Louis looked at Zayn in a self-explanatory way, shamelessly ogling the bloke. He was ripped, totally visible through his soaked white snug fitting tee, his short-cut hair slightly curling from the rain.

Shit, he was hot!

"Mate," Louis whispered "he's hot af."

Zayn looked unconvinced. "I think, he's hetero. You know how it is with the good-looking ones..." he whispered back.

Louis tsked and fumbled his phone from his pocket. Double-tapping his screen, he woke up his phone and flipped Grindr open. It took the app a bit to load. Louis scanned his screen. "Mate ... he is definitively not hetero."


	2. Chapter 2

The profile picture Louis saw only made his grin wider.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun!

The profile photo showed the bloke with a big smile, dressed in a nice dress shirt holding a cute puppy.

So, either he was into this kind of pretend thing or he was just plain oblivious. Both was great. Zayn cocked an eyebrow looking over Louis' shoulder at his display. Louis grinned at him knowingly. "You know the drill," he said in a small voice, grin spreading even more from ear to ear. Oh, Zayn knew. He nodded silently, a wicked grin on his face.

It really wasn't their first time doing this, tag-teaming strong and very top looking blokes. Technically, both of them weren't gay. Louis had almost holy rules with women, treating them properly and falling in love first and all. But since he rarely fell in love, he seldom had monogamic heteronormative relationships. Zayn had a thing for older women. So, most of the time they had fun with other guys, often together. They were very good friends with benefits, lots of benefits.

Louis hit the guy up first. His name was 'Liam' according to his profile.

_/Hey handsome/_  he typed.

His particular way of doing this was the following: first acting all cutesy, since his profile proclaimed him as a twink, and then go all in. He heard no messaging tone but the guy fumbled his phone from his pockets. Good. Vibration would play out nicely when they were going to bombard him with messages.

_/Hey :) /_   Liam replied.

This. Was. Going. To. Be. SO. Much. Fun.

_/I saw your photo and thought the puppy looked really cute <3 /_

He showed Zayn his typed message. He nodded approvingly.

_/Thank you :) It's my new little buddy. His name is Pete /_ came Liam’s answer.

Oh boy.

_/He's really cute <3 Would you like to go out for a coffee and then to the park?/_

"Soon" Louis mouthed at Zayn after hitting the send button.

_/That would be very nice! You look cute in your picture :) /_ The reply came.

Louis looked over at Liam, he had a happy smile on his face. Louis grinned evilly.

_/Do you mind if I bring a good friend of mine along?/_

Last message before they started tag-teaming.

_/Not at all! The more the merrier :) /_

Gosh. Such an easy victim. "Go," he said to Zayn.

_/Hey gorgeous. I really like that cute doggo of yours ;) /_ Zayn typed smiling.

Liam hat put his phone back into his pocket after Louis didn't reply immediately. The vibration went off again so he had to fumble the phone back out.

_/Hey there :) Thank you! That's Pete! /_

Zayn grinned.

_/Bet he has very soft fur too ;) /_

Louis looked at Zayn’s message and put his thumb up.

_/Sooo the weather doesn't look so good today. Maybe no playdate ... but do you have time later and would accompany me to a bar for a drink? My treat./_ Louis send, Zayn received:

_/Aww yes, his fur is very soft :) /_

Louis saw Liam type with a timid smile on his face. This was going great so far.

_/My friend told me to hit you up since you said you wouldn't mind me coming on a playdate as well? ;) /_ Zayne answered. Almost there.

Louis opened Liam’s reply and stifled a laugh.

_/I would very much like this :)  
I'm currently on my way home and have to change because I got drenched earlier v.v _

_But later would be great. Around 9?/_

Then the reply for Zayn came.

_/We have no concrete plans yet, but of course, come along. :) /_

Louis typed: _/Sure thing! 9 it is. At Vauxhall. I'll be wearing white braces! The rest you know from my photos <3/ _

And Zayn replied _/Great ;) See you later!/_

and added a picture of Louis and him kissing sweetly.

Louis high-fived Zayn audibly with a wide grin on his face.

Their stop came up and Louis couldn't resist touching Liam's shoulder as they passed him. When he turned around to look at him, Louis looked him deep in the eyes.

"See you later," he whispered with a smirk and Zayn added "Leeyum" in his slow drawl.

While leaving the bus, Louis turned around to see Liam’s very disbelieving face and his slowly spreading blush.

Right. He was oblivious.


	3. Chapter 3

When they entered their flat, the first thing both went for was food. Thankfully, some takeaway leftovers from yesterday were still in the fridge. They had roughly one and half an hour left till they had to leave the flat to meet Liam.   
"You want to take a shower first?" Zayn asked.

"Yeah, okay," Louis answered and vanished in the bathroom. Stalking to their 'joined wardrobe' as Louis liked to call it, Zayn selected some fresh black jeans, skinny ones, because that was almost the only kind they owned, and searched for his favourite batman shirt. He took a sniff - it smelled of sandalwood and weed, perfect. A black leather jacket finished his outfit. Louis exited the bathroom with a blow dryer in hand and gestured for Zayn to enter.

"Tommo! Did you use my shaving cream again?" came an irritated shout from the bathroom. "Yeah sorry, mine's empty." Louis shouted back, not very sorry. Zayn sighed. They had only one rule: shaving utensils and toothbrushes were not to be shared. Clearly, Louis couldn't even follow that rule. Zayn rolled his eyes and closed the bathroom door.

While Zayn was complaining, Louis already dried his hair.

White braces. What to wear with them? He opted for maroon jeans which he had to roll-up a bit, since their shared jeans were a bit long for him, and a blue shirt with black dots that made his eyes pop. Zayn exited the bathroom and came in, to get dressed as well. "Mate ... what are you wearin'?" Zayn asked unconvinced. "I have to uphold the cute twink image a bit longer, you toned it down a bit yourself, haven't you?" Louis questioned him. "Yeah well, won't do any good to scare him away just now." Zayn frowned. That was true. "Well then, this is just right." Louis left the room and thus the discussion was over. After styling his hair and putting on some aftershave he was almost good to go. They still had time left though and he felt like a bit of pregaming, so he pulled the Gin from the shelf and poured a bit in two tumblers. From the medical cabinet in the kitchen, he took caffeine pills for them and put them in the tumblers.

When Zayn came in the kitchen, he first rolled a blunt and lit it up. Louis offered him a glass. "Might want to be a bit careful with the weed, I put pills in the Gin," he said.

Zayn nodded. "Cheers" and they clinked glasses. Thankfully, they had time so the intoxication could spread slowly throughout their bodies. After smoking roughly a quarter, Zayn cut off the smouldering part of his blunt and pocketed it carefully.

When it was almost time to go, Louis pocketed some lube and put condoms in Zayn’s pockets. Since bulky pockets with skinny jeans looked not nice that was their normal course of action - sharing was caring after all and when they tag-teamed, it didn't matter anyway.

The bus wasn't that crowded yet, but the tube was. Lots of youngsters were already out in their search for amusement.

Louis was a bit fidgety with anticipation, while Zayn was very calm, which really was no wonder.

Technically there was nothing to worry about, they had done things like that several times and he was almost 100% sure that Liam would be there.

They exited the tube at Vauxhall.

Spotting Liam was easy, he was wearing blue jeans and a snug fitting black sweatshirt. He smiled unsurely when he saw both of them. Louis waved energetically and Zayn put up his hand in the attempt of a greeting.

"Hey Liam! Pete is at home?" Louis asked with a sweet smile. Liam’s face brightened up. "Yes, I left him with a friend," he answered. "As you already know, I'm Louis and this is Zayn," Louis supplied.

Liam nodded. If he was confused and unsure, he hid it quite well since Louis saw no sign beyond the initial confusion.

"Right. I have a bar in mind to go to if you have no objections." Louis looked directly in Liam’s eyes while asking.

"Uhm no, lead the way," Liam replied, not so sure anymore. As if on command, Zayn and Louis took an arm each and led the way to a dimly lit bar, only a few minutes away, with booths that gave off the air of relative privacy.

The waiter gave the trio a knowing grin and asked for their order.

"Coke & Bacardi three times please, the first round is on me." Liam smiled at Louis and Zayn. The waiter nodded and left. Louis cocked his eyebrow: "Liam darling, I said the drinks are on me." Liam smiled shyly. "I know, but I thought it would be the nice thing to do if you agreed to go out with me and all."

‘Oh boy. Not out of the closet that long, are we?’ Louis thought to himself but answered with a sweet smile. "That is very nice of you, though I have to assure you: the pleasure is completely ours."

As his own way of answering, Zayn put a hand on Liam’s half-bare forearm.

Liam ducked his head in response.

When their drinks arrived, Liam chucked half of the drink down in one go.

"So, Liam," Louis tried to initiate small talk, "Liam - that's your real name, right?" Liam nodded. "You haven't been on Grindr that long, have you?" Liam looked up. "Yeah, just a few days. How can you tell?" he asked. Zayn chuckled. "Liam, what do you think Grindr is for?" he asked slowly.

Liam looked confused. "A mate of mine suggested it to me, he said it was like Tinder but only for guys." Louis snorted.

Liam’s innocence was cute. "Darling, have you scrolled through some entries and never wondered about the profile pictures?" Louis replied, grinning lazily.

"Yeah sure. Many post headless torsos to show how trained they are. I can understand that, you want to show off your training effort," Liam explained.

This guy was so clueless, unbelievable.

"Gorgeous, that's not the only reason why they are doing this. Has no one approached you so far?" Zayn tried in a sensible tone.

"Sure. Two wrote me and I told them that I was at work and would write them later, but they never answered after that. I thought it was a bit odd," Liam stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

Louis couldn't do this anymore. He broke out in a giggle fit and stuff like "Too cute" and "I can't even". Liam was now hopelessly confused and Zayn took it upon him to explain. "Liam. People that hit you up there are generally not up for talking about Pete and planning to go on playdates with you." He smiled gently.

Liam looked at him uncertainly till the realisation dawned on him and he chucked down the rest of the glass. Zayn saw this as his cue to go out and take a smoke. He grabbed Liam’s hand and signalled with his blunt to Louis who nodded.

 

The night air was not really cold but refreshing compared to indoors. Liam shivered a bit so Zayn shrugged of his jacket and put it on Liam’s shoulders.

He lit his blunt and took a drag.

After the third, he held in his breath, cupped Liam’s face with one hand, kissed him and exhaled into Liam’s mouth. Liam was so surprised that he accidentally inhaled and coughed his way through the exhale.

Zayn pat him compassionately on the shoulder. "Easy there. Let's try again." Zayn repeated the procedure and this time it went better. The third time worked just fine.

Why Liam let him do this, he couldn't really figure out, but he blamed it on his intoxication due to drinking too fast.

After smoking another bit, he carefully put the blunt out again and packed it away.

"Now let’s get you down again and have another drink," Zayn told Liam encouragingly while holding his hand when they passed the entrance.

Back at the table he low-key signed Louis to order new drinks.

Shortly after Liam and Zayn sat down and Louis left for drinks, the waiter returned with Louis in tow and drinks.

Tequila shots for all of them, Liquor 43 & milk for Louis, a Coke for Zayn and Gin & Tonic for Liam as well as a water bottle for him.

"Drink!" Louis ordered Liam, placing the water bottle in front of him.

Louis and Zayn finished their Coke & Bacardi and when Liam was finished with gulping down half of the bottle, Louis placed a shot in front of each of them.

"To a good night," he toasted to them before drinking in one go.

"Did Zayn treat you well?" Louis asked smiling serenely?

Liam blushed slightly. "Yeah," he answered in a rough voice.

When Louis saw the waiter, he ordered two Blowjobs. He could have fun, too.

"Do you know how these work?" he asked Liam, motioning at the shots.

Liam shook his head. "Then let me show you," Louis said while taking a shot and sitting down next to Liam. He put the shot carefully in Liam’s lap, placed his head over it, took the glass in his mouth and chucked the shot down in one go. With the creamy taste still on his lips he kissed Liam sweetly on the lips.

"That, gentlemen, is how you drink a Blowjob." Louis grinned proudly.

Zayn was a bit worried about Liam’s intoxication level at this point, because his eyes were glassy and he stared at Louis’ lips.

Liam took the other shot, put it in Louis' lap and copied the procedure.

Believing that the kiss also belonged to the ritual, he put his lips on Louis’ for a quick kiss but Louis would have none of this. He cupped Liam’s face with both of his hands, licked over Liam’s lips to get access and chased the sweet taste in Liam’s mouth.

When Louis was finished, Liam was a mess.

His hair was still a bit tousled from the night air, his cheeks where red from the alcohol, his lips were kiss-bruised and his eyes a bit watery from the burn of the Tequila on his raw coughed throat. "Look at you," Louis said fondly while snapping a photo with his phone.

Louis typed a short text to Zayn.

They had talked on the tube about foregoing the club for bringing Liam home with them, or preferably going to Liam’s instead. Sharing this handsome bloke with the hungry beasts at the club was definitely not in their interest.

Zayn nodded at him.

"Liam darling, how are you feeling?" Louis asked sweetly. "A bit funny but else: great," Liam said with an excited smile.

Louis and Zayn were half way through their drinks. Liam had a bit more in his glass still.

"How about we go to yours when we all have finished our drinks?" Zayn asked in a raspy seductive drawl. Liam looked at him with a mix of anticipation and nervousness. "Uhh sure," he replied.

Roughly fifteen minutes and some kisses between Zayn and Liam and Zayn and Louis later they were ready to go and entered the tube on their way to Liam’s flat.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Thankfully, the tube ride was rather boring. Zayn and Louis both held Liam’s hands and he smiled the whole time like a lunatic.

When they exited the tube, Liam led the way and a tad later they arrived at his flat.

Since he was still able to unlock the door at the first try, Louis rated his intoxication level to doable.

Inside the house, Liam giggled a little.

Louis gave him a sweet kiss. "Soon, darling," he said grinning.

They stumbled up the stairs and entered the flat not very silently.

After slamming the door shut, Liam slammed Zayn against the wall, luckily Zayn was fast enough in his reaction to not bump his head on the wall.

There were no traces left of the shy and embarrassed Liam.

Liam crushed his and Zayn's lips together in a bruising kiss. Zayn pulled Liam closer, fisting his hands in Liam's sweatshirt, in response. Louis watched, kicked his shoes off, pulled down his braces and unbuttoned the top buttons.

When they broke apart for air, both frantically kicked their shoes off, Zayn stripped down his tee and Louis grabbed Liam for a kiss. Now it was his turn.

Liam was on fire - or at least, that was how he kissed like. Like a whirlwind of aggressive tongue in Louis’ mouth. Louis wasn't put to shame though: he sucked at Liam's tongue in response and bit down on his lip not very gently.

When Liam started to unbutton Louis’ shirt, Zayn saw that as his cue to take the wrists of both of them and drag them into the room he assumed would be the bedroom, since the doors were open.

All of them stumbled into the room, Liam's free hand roaming Zayn's back.

Louis shrugged out of his shirt and Zayn pushed Liam onto the bed.

Zayn crawled behind Liam and Louis straddled his hips, facing him.

Liam was now trapped between two half-dressed bodies, both of them inching closer. Zayn stroked Liam's nipples through his shirt while whispering very filthy things into his ear, all the things he would like to do with him. Meanwhile Louis licked teasingly over Liam's lips, grinding down on his lap at an agonizingly slow pace. Liam moaned loudly. "I-I can't. Please let me touch y-you," he pleaded, already out of breath.

Louis would have none of it. "Ts, ts, ts. No darling. We gonna make you feel so good. Patience," and held Liam's hands down to the mattress.

The bulk in Liam's pants was growing steadily. Louis licked his lips and leaned over Liam's shoulder to kiss Zayn. It was their way of assuring each other that everything was still alright.

Zayn moved his one hand between Liam's lap and Louis’ jeans, to stimulate both of them, while rubbing himself on Liam's back. Their kiss grew more heated and filthy, wet sounds were the only thing Liam could hear anymore.

He came with a breathy moan in his pants and passed out between them.

Louis and Zayn stopped and looked at him surprised. "We didn't even do anything really," Zayn said in a dubious tone. "He didn't seem that drunk or high to me," Louis supplied.

Normally they would just leave the flat, but in this case, he kind of was their responsibility now, since he was a newbie and they intoxicated him on purpose.

Both crawled down from the bed, leaving Liam passed out on his back. When they checked his breath and found it satisfying, they stripped him out of his pants, moved him unto his pillow and dragged the blanket over him.

Zayn went searching for a bottle of water and Louis for a bucket.

When they had found both and placed it beside the bed on the floor, they retreated to the living room to jerk each other off.

Needs must and a knocked-out partner didn't kill their mood enough to just go to bed. The sofa was comfy and so they placed a big towel from the bathroom on it, stripped out of their jeans and sat down in front of each other.

Louis let his eyes roam over Zayn's tattooed chest. He was so goddamn pretty, Louis was happy that he did not belong to him, because otherwise he would never be sure if he could hold such a beauty. Louis touched Zayn's chest gently at first and then put an ugly red scratch there, slowly dragging his nails down. Zayn hissed in response and went for a brutal kiss, biting Louis’ lip hard. Most of the time they weren't gentle with each other, since their other partners always treated them like they were fragile and could break easily. They were strong, both of them, and they knew how they could treat each other.

While Zayn was kissing him, sucking every breath out of his lungs, Louis went with his left hand for his own prick, pulling down his underwear and with his right for Zayn's.  
They broke apart, breathing heavily. Louis began to stroke them in sync, very slowly, slipping his thumb now and then over the head.

Zayn leaned forward and bit, after placing a gentle kiss on Louis’ shoulder, in the said body part. As Louis picked up the pace, they gasped in unison. Zayn inched closer and pried Louis' hands away to put his around both of them. Louis leaned his forehead against Zayn's and pinched Zayn's nipple with pre-come smeared fingers.

That drew a beautiful moan from Zayn's lips which Louis’ lips tried to kiss away from his hungrily. Another heated kiss and a rough tug from Zayn's hand and both went over the edge, drowning the room in their collective moan.

After inhaling the very needed oxygen for a few minutes, Louis wiped them both down with the towel and disposed it in the bathroom. Lazily they walked back into the bedroom, checked on Liam again and snuggled beside him under the blanket of the huge bed.

Not what the initially had in mind, but they were tired and so sleep seemed like a good idea, even if it was technically too early for that.


	5. Chapter 5

Zayn was the first to wake up, what was quite weird, normally he was the last.

The taste in his mouth was horrible and since the other two were still asleep, he stalked quietly out of the room in search of mouthwash. Thankfully, Liam had some.

After removing the taste of dead animal from his mouth, Zayn proceeded to the kitchen to make some tea. While setting the kettle on the stove, he yawned loudly.

What a weird night. Strangely enough he wasn't really bothered by the fact that they couldn't really pursue their original plan, namely getting Liam to fuck them both raw. He liked how cute and inexperienced the built handsome bloke was. Maybe they could make a training exercise out of him?

Still in just his briefs, he looked down his chest and smiled admiringly at his red scratch. Louis did a wonderful job. Touching it still stung.

The tea was ready and so he drank a sip of his cup and then proceeded to the bedroom to wake up Louis and give him his.

Zayn sat down at the edge of the bed, cup placed on the floor beside him, and gently stroked Louis’ head. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," he said quietly into Louis' ear. Louis rose from his slumber and weakly slapped Zayn's hand away. "Tea?" he demanded drowsily. Zayn chuckled quietly and handed him his cup. "You hungry? Let's make some breakfast," he suggested to the steadily more awoke Louis.

Louis yawned. "Yeah, let's," he replied.

Both padded back to the kitchen and while Louis raided the fridge, Zayn made coffee for Liam.

When they were finished preparing a full English, which they never did at home since their fridge held very little, both padded back to the bedroom to wake up Liam.

He was still fast asleep, but they were hungry after preparing the food and eating his stuff in his flat without him would be rude, so he had to wake up.

Zayn cupped Liam's face gently with his right hand while Louis moved his right to stroke Liam's fluffy hair. "Wake up, gorgeous," Zayn said gently with a smile in his voice. Liam moved slowly as if he struggled to break through the surface between sleep and reality. Slowly he blinked his eyes open and a drowsy smile brightened up his face. "Beautiful," he commented the sight of them framed by the soft morning light. Louis smiled at him. "Let's get some food in you, handsome. I bet you’re hungry," he said. Liam nodded vigorously. Standing up was a bit of a problem though, because he wasn't very steady on his feet. "Easy there," Louis mused.

When they reached the kitchen, Liam's eyes grew very big. "You did all this? For me?" he asked surprised. "We are not savages, you know?" Louis replied "And no, not just for you, we’re also hungry," he added, since being seen as a saint didn't sit well with him.

They dug in heartily and Liam made happy noises while eating a very huge portion.

Louis sat down his teacup. "So" he began "how much of last night do you remember?" This was the moment of truth. Liam cocked his head to the right, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well ... we met at Vauxhall, then you took me to this bar and I ordered drinks for us," he said and took another bite of his food.

"Then Zayn went out to smoke and took me with him ... and then we kissed," he said and ducked his head shyly.

"Wait ... Zayn, were you smoking weed?!!" Liam said in an alarmed voice and looked disbelievingly at Zayn, who had a satisfied grin on his face. "That's why I felt so funny later!”

He shook his head. "And then Louis gave me more alcohol and we did this blowjob thing." Liam ended blushing.

Louis grinned evilly. "And after that?" Louis asked inquisitively.

"Err, I think we went home and ... oh. Oh!" A look of shock flashed over Liam’s face. "I'm so sorry, Zayn! Did I hurt your head? Did I do this to you?" he said pointing his finger at the red scratch. Zayn shook his head still smiling. "No. That was my work of art," Louis explained and pinched Zayn's nipple affectionately.

Liam gulped. "Oh okay." He looked down to his briefs, seeing the stain from last night. 'Oh,' he mouthed. After a second, he seemed to recall what happened at the end and proceeded to hide his face behind his hands. "I am so, so sorry. What an embarrassing situation. I just fell asleep on you. I don't know how to make it up to you," he said in a small voice.

Louis grinned winningly at Zayn. "Well. How about we leave your flat after breakfast so that you can sort out your thoughts and we meet again tomorrow for coffee and a playdate with Pete?" Louis suggested gently. Liam nodded thankfully.

After finishing their meal in silence, Louis stood up clearing his throat. "How about at 2 on Sunday in front of Kennington Park?" he suggested. "Yeah okay. We'll be there," came the immediate response from Liam, a bright smile on his face again. Zayn nodded curtly, both picked up their clothes, got dressed and left the flat without another word.

When they exited the building, Louis pumped his fist in the air. This was going to be his new project. "Zayn, we have a new mission," he said, grinning.


	6. Chapter 6

When Louis and Zayn arrived at their flat, it was still morning - not early morning but before 12.

"Well," Louis said while opening the door to their flat, "since we are home that early, what do you suggest we're doing today?" he asked. Zayn looked around. The entrance part of the short corridor was a mess. The whole flat was a mess. "Err, how 'bout cleanin' up?" he suggested. Louis groaned in response. "Right."

Louis waded through the mess to the kitchen to make himself another cup of tea, Zayn followed him and motioned Louis to make him one, too.

While Louis searched for clean mugs, Zayn started with restoring order in the kitchen.

Two hours later, Louis just came back from the washing machine, the phone in his pocket vibrated. After setting down he fumbled out his phone and saw the new message from Grindr. It was Liam.

Liam who had send him a pic, freshly showered, briefs riding low on his hip bones, his hair wet from a shower.

_/Till tomorrow_ / the message read. Louis face brightened into a wide grin. In a fast manner he walked to Zayn, who was cleaning the bathroom thoroughly.

"Look!" he said in a triumphant tone, showing the phone to Zayn. Zayn cocked an eyebrow and said in a smug tone: "Our project indeed." Louis nodded. "Right. What do you say about a reward? Group shower photo!" Zayn grinned. "Don't you dare to dirty the bathroom!" he said while already stripping out of his clothes, throwing them in the now empty hamper. Louis was quick to follow and both entered the shower. Sadly, they had no tub, but at least a shower that fit two persons comfortably.

Zayn took to the task of spreading shampoo thoroughly on Louis' head while Louis pressed a finger to Zayn's red scar testingly. "Does it still hurt?" he asked questioningly. Zayn shook his head no. "Do you want me to make a new one?" Louis asked gently. Zayn silently nodded his head. As long as Zayn felt good he was able to physically hurt him, but he never would do anything to hurt him in a manner that really hurt him. Since they met in Further Education College, they had been inseparable.  Louis and Zayn against the world. Both alone in London, coming from different regions of the UK. Classmates and other guys from school only looked down on them once. Either they were forcefully convinced of their charm by a quick blowjob or beaten up. Life was too short to lengthily deal with thugs. Anyone that underestimated them paid in one way or another.

Louis pulled his nail down Zayn's thigh in a horizontal line, slowly dragging his nail through the skin. Zayn hissed when the hot water splashed on his new wound. In response he pulled on Louis’ hair. Louis tensed for a second and then leaned into Zayn and melted into an embrace. "Never forget how beautiful and strong you are." Louis whispered into Zayn's ear. Reassuring Zayn was working both ways. Strengthening his second half meant strengthening himself. Ending the embrace, he started cleaning himself properly. When they were finished, Louis quickly put a towel around his lower region and told Zayn to do the same by throwing him a towel as well.

Minimally covered, they took a photo directly sending it to Liam.

Liam send back an eggplant. Louis broke out in loud laughter and Zayn just snorted. Oh boy. "Now, let's finish cleaning up when we're dressed," Zayn suggested in a gentle tone, slapping Louis slightly on his bare arse, the towel fallen down in his giggle fit. "Yes, sir!" Louis mock saluted, in a very good mood.

The day went by relatively uneventful.

When they were finished with cleaning, they went shopping to restock their fridge, hang around the couch to play a bit of FIFA - Zayn was horrible and Louis won several times - and then they went to the gym. Zayn trained his boxing techniques a bit more and Louis did cardio. Since Liam was really built, Louis thought about showing off a bit themselves. He shot a short video of Zayn beating his opponent effortlessly and sent it to Liam. He grinned smugly at his phone. Zayn was great at boxing, even though he didn't look like it. Liam replied with a shot from the gym with him bench pressing. So, Louis sent a selfie from doing cardio. Liam's reply was a selfie with a charming looking guy in yoga clothes. / _My colleague from work who suggested Grindr to me./_ he supplied.

Louis cocked his eyebrow. _/Do you attend his yoga classes? :) /_ Louis asked.

He was finished already and basically just hung around on the side lines, waiting for Zayn to finish.

_/Yeah. I did once or twice./_ the reply came.

Louis grinned. _/Bet you are flexible :) /_ He typed back.

 Louis waited for a reply for a while. Liam's next reply was not really his though.

_/Hi :) This is Harry, Liam's friend, the yoga instructor. He attends sometimes and let me tell you something: he is quite flexible ;)/_ Louis snorted disbelievingly.

Well good to know.

_/Hey there. Thx for showing him Grindr. Why do you have his phone?/_ Louis asked suspiciously.

_/He went to the loo. Treat him well and have fun ;) bye, H/_ Harry replied.

In this moment Zayn called Louis, so he pocketed his phone and entered the locker room with him.

Later on, they decided on sandwiches and a DVD - The Spirit. After the first twenty minutes Zayn took out a blunt. Of course. The next movie would probably be Watchmen, Sin City or Inception, with Zayn putting another blunt for Louis on the table. Louis wasn't opposed to smoking weed, but generally preferred alcohol for intoxication outside of their flat. Zayn slowly lighted their blunts and inhaled. "It's the second day in a row, you might want to slow down a tad to not consume your supply too fast." Louis suggested carefully. Louis wasn't too fond of Zayn burning through his stash this fast. The stuff was expensive. Zayn nodded solemnly. Both laid back on the couch while the movie continued.

After another half an hour Louis whistled "Mate, Scarlett Johansson is so hot!" Zayn made an affirmative noise and blew out his smoke in rings. "You know who else is hot? Leeyum." he drawled slowly and took his phone from the table. Double tabbing his screen, he opened up Grindr and clicked Liam's messages.

_/Hey/_ he typed. _/How you're doing? ;)/_

_/Still at work/_ came Liam’s prompt reply.

_/Would you mind adding me on What's App? Having Grindr open at work is a bit ... you know./_

_/Sure ;)/_ Zayn replied. So, he was at work.

Liam sent Zayn his number and Zayn added him on WA. "Tommo. I got Liam's number." he said while typing out a new message to Liam. Louis giggled at something in the movie. "Great. Add me to a group chat." "Yeah yeah" came Zayn's reply.

_/Want me to send you some nice pics?/_ Sent.

Liam replied. _/Sure./_

Zayn smirked and took a selfie with his blunt blowing smoke in the camera with hooded eyes.

_/... are you smoking weed again?/_ popped Liam’s message up on the screen. Zayn snorted.

_/Yeah, why?/_ he sent inclusive questioning selfie.

_/I don't think that is very healthy./_ Liam responded unsure.

"Gorgeous, I do whatever I want." Zayn send a voice message in a calm and raspy tone. He was way too relaxed to get irritated by Liam. Liam sent back a worried selfie. "Aww, look Liam is worried about us smoking." Zayn tossed his phone to Louis. Louis inhaled deeply from his blunt and looked at the screen. "How about we change his mood a bit?" he said challengingly, but rather relaxed. "What do you have in mind?" Zayn questioned.

"I know we left him alone to think a bit till tomorrow, yeah? But I don't really care?" Louis ended slow. Zayn nodded.

"How do you feel about kissing?" Louis asked. Zayn shrugged. Louis grinned slowly and propped up Zayn’s phone on the backrest of the couch and made sure to have them in the focus of the lens. Then he pressed the video message button, pulled Zayn in with the hands in his shirt and began sucking on his bottom lip. Zayn reacted slowly but slid his tongue out to participate as well. They slowly proceeded from lazy sucking to a heated play with their tongues, till they had to break apart for air and Louis pressed the stop and send button.

"That is what I had in mind," he said between heavy breaths. Zayn grinned. "Good idea," he said, filling his lungs again with thick smoke. It took some time for Liam to respond. It was a hasty voice message, probably recorded at the bathroom. "Boys, you're killing me here! I'm a fitness trainer and I definitely can't walk around half-hard at work!" Liam sounded a little panicky.

_/Only half-hard?/_ Louis typed back. He was satisfied.

_/Jesus. Could you please not make this worse?/_ Liam replied. Louis snorted.

_/What do we get in return?/_ It was bargaining time.

_/I don't know. Whatever you want! I embarrassed myself in front of you already! I pay our next bar/club date?/_ Liam typed out hastily. "Zayn. Our project is developing just fine. Liam's going to sugardaddy us next time we're going out." Louis said in a calm voice. Zayn whooped. More money in the bank for weed.

_/Deal :)/_ Louis typed back and added himself to their chat.


	7. Chapter 7

They slowly drifted off to sleep on the couch during the third movie. Basically, they went out like a light and slept like the dead till late in the morning.

Louis stirred first and, since Zayn lay half on top of him, he woke him up as well.

Zayn blinked and yawned owlishly. Louis removed himself from under him, took the empty plates and padded to the kitchen to make tea.

After a few minutes he came back with two steaming mugs - Zayn had snuggled into the pillows of the couch again and was asleep already. Louis sat down beside him, put the steaming mugs on the table and began slowly stroking Zayn's soft hair. Zayn moved slowly from the pillows to Louis’ lap and curled up there. When Louis began massaging the skin in his neck he made sleepy approving sounds. "Zayn, get up," Louis spoke softly and removed his hand. Zayn made a disgruntled noise. "Good," Louis commented, "now let's make some breakfast." Louis really wasn't sure how Zayn managed to get up every morning and he even had to get up before Louis ...

After a rather small breakfast - both of them weren't that hungry - they crashed in front of the TV again to play a bit GTA.

Right on time to meet Liam, they left the flat and were on their way.

At around 1:50, they stepped out of the tube. Liam was waiting already, of course. A bright smile replaced the nervous look on his face. Liam had a relaxed clothing style as well obviously, since he wore loose fitting jeans, a long-sleeve and a college jacket. Louis didn't bother to look like the impeccable twink he advertised himself to be, today in a loose-fitting hoodie and trackies. Zayn wore a sweater and his normal skinnies. Pete wagged his tail happily, as he saw them approaching.

"Hey," Liam said softly and went for an embrace. Louis reciprocated and kissed him on the cheek softly, Zayn just took the embrace and squeezed Liam's biceps.

"So, just a walk in the park?" Louis asked neutrally. Liam nodded. "Pete behaved very well, my friend told me, so he really earned his playtime." Pete barked happily. "Yes, you did," Zayn cooed softly. Louis cocked an eyebrow and looked in a questioning manner at Zayn. "What man? He's cute," Zayn said shrugging.

Thankfully, the weather was quite nice, the sun was out and the park wasn't that packed. There were some dog owners, but it seemed no troublemakers were amongst them.

They sat down on a bench and Zayn picked up a piece of wood for playing with Pete. Pete was energetically chasing the flying stick and bringing it back every time.

"So," Louis began, putting one arm on Liam’s shoulder and one on the backrest of the bench, "did you have enough time to process?" Liam looked down, thinking.

Louis expected Liam to be interested in them, especially after yesterday evening.

"Yeah. I think I want to try your thing," Liam said with a steady voice. Your thing? What did he think they were doing? "And what exactly is our thing, pray tell?" Louis said questioningly. Liam paused. Zayn stayed silent, playing with the dog and letting Louis do the talking.

"Err, well," Liam started, "didn't you invite me into your relationship?" Zayn snorted. Louis said disbelievingly: "Our what now?" Liam looked confused. "Your relationship? Isn't that what that is? I mean you seemed rather close to me..." he trailed off. Louis facepalmed audibly.

"Liam, darling," Louis began "have you ever slept with a guy before?" Liam blushed and ducked his head and mumbled "No." How could anyone be possibly so pure? Louis sighed. "We're friends with benefits. Yes, we're interested in a relationship with you, but probably not what you're thinking anyway." Liam looked up. "I'm not that kind of guy," he said firmly. Louis cupped Liam’s face with one hand and looked him into the eyes "I know you're not. That’s what makes you so interesting." It was the truth. What use was there to deny it? Liam stared back, unsure. Louis bowed a little to be able to speak into Liam's ear. "Trust me," he whispered, "you want what we can give you." Zayn bowed over from the other side to whisper himself "And you now that, too," and nibbled softly on the shell of Liam's ear. Liam sat there with a red face, his memories from Friday kicking in. "Oh, okay," he managed. Louis pressed his hand down on Liam's lap to emphasize his words and leaned back, a satisfied grin on his face. Liam swallowed, took a deep breath to get a grip. "Okay," he started with new found courage in his voice, "but I have a condition as well." Louis cocked an eyebrow, Zayn looked undisturbed. "You will have no other partners while you're with me," Liam ended. Zayn coughed, Louis whistled. "Possessive, aren't we?" Louis responded disdainfully. "Yes. And I tend to keep my partners," Liam replied neutrally. Louis would have lied, if he'd said it didn't annoy him. It annoyed him a great deal, no one told him what to do. But at the same time, a certain kind of heat spread through his body. "I hope you’re worth it," he said and really meant it. Zayn looked at Louis questioningly. "You serious about this?" Louis nodded. "Very much," and gave Liam his hand to seal the deal. And Liam, the wanker, pulled a freaking prince move on them. He took Louis' hand and Zayn's and kissed them gently. What. The. Fuck. Zayn was just plain stunned by this move and Louis had to duck away to hide the blush on his cheeks. Nope. He had to do something. Liam was gaining control, that really wouldn't do. In bed, he was okay with this, but nowhere else.

"Alright, alright. We get it, Prince Charming," he said disgusted and stood up. He couldn't stay in Liam's presence any longer, he really had to think this through. Zayn stood up as well, cleaning his hand from dog drool on his jeans.

"We're free on Thursday and you promised us another date. Wednesday, same place and time as last time?" Louis asked neutrally. Liam looked a bit confused by their sudden wish to leave.

"I have to work Thursday morning, but rather late. Should be fine," he said.

"Till Wednesday then." Louis waved goodbye and Zayn petted Pete a last time, before they left the park.

Louis had mixed feelings about this and a look at Zayn's face told him that it was the same for him.


	8. Chapter 8

On their way home, they didn't speak. Louis was deep in thought and Zayn seemed in a bad mood.

When Louis closed the door of their flat, Zayn gave him a piece of his mind.

"Did you really just sell us off to a kinda serious relationship with Liam?"

Louis did a double take. "Excuse me? You were there. You could have disagreed any time!" he answered angrily. Zayn paused for a second. "I thought, serious relationships were off the table since you-know-what." Louis tsked. Zayn really knew where to poke him. "Liam's not like him!" Zayne shook his head. "Maybe, but what if he leaves us for a girl? Would you like to be as heartbroken as with 'him' back then?" he said in a worried tone. "Fuck you!" Louis spat out and disappeared in their bedroom. It had been fun. Even the prospect of kind of a relationship had been fun. Why did Zayn have to dig out the skeletons from his closet? It had been several years and Louis’ heart had healed. There was a reason why he never had any kind of serious stuff going on with blokes. The particular relationship that taught him that, was one that involved him, another bloke and a girl. Louis thought everything was going fine until one day, they started to exclude him. At first, only a little, but then gradually more and more until it was a relationship of two and an undesirable roommate. He had loved them, god had he loved them. The fact that it didn't last long had not eased his pain the slightest bit. Louis pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes.

Zayn was right, maybe it was a stupid idea, maybe he was not made for the pain of breaking up and the hardship of serious relationships. But for some reason he wanted to try with Liam. Maybe not a really serious relationship, but something - and also, he wasn't alone. Zayn had been there to comfort him, when his heart had been broken and had been there ever since. Zayn, his faithful friend with benefits. He took a deep breath and lay down on the bed. Not yet. He wasn't ready to apologise just yet, but soon.

About half an hour later he stood up and braced himself to apologise to Zayn.

Zayn had retreated to his craft room. Art calmed him down. Louis knocked hesitantly on the door. "Come in," came Zayn's calm voice from the other side of the door. Louis paused. "I'm sorry. You were only concerned." Louis gently put his hand on Zayn's shoulder, who promptly laid his on top of Louis'. "Yeah," that was the only thing he replied. "Look, we're in this together. Yeah?" Louis asked. Zayn nodded. Louis hugged him and went to the kitchen. Fighting with Zayn was never a good idea. He was stubborn and never apologised first and this time he wasn't even in the wrong to begin with.

Louis still wasn't very hungry, but he felt like cooking for them both, so he did.

Its result certainly was no roast beef, but it was edible and most likely healthier than ordering pizza. He knocked on the craft room door again, since Zayn was still in there, working. "I made food. It's not poisoned, promise," Louis said in a conciliatory voice. Zayn made an approving noise and came out almost immediately. They ate in their little kitchen, too lazy to carry everything to the couch. After finishing half his plate, Zayn finally said something. "I think, if you really wanna do this, we can try." And that was it. Louis waited for anything more but Zayn just finished and put his plate in the sink. Since Zayn seemed to be in a better mood, Louis tried not to provoke anything and let it be.

After spending the evening separately, they went to bed early, since they both had to work early on Monday.

Louis fell asleep without speaking another word with Zayn that weekend.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there :>
> 
> I kind of promoted Lewis from my beta to my editor starting from this chapter on.  
> She's going to slightly change my text additionally to doing the beta~  
> I just wanted to tell you, because that might change my style slightly (for the better)  
> and of course to thank her officially ❤

Monday was relatively boring.

Nothing special happened at work; it was a normal Monday-amount of work. Zayn still looked tired though when Louis met him after work on the bus. They didn't go to bed that late so Zayn should have gotten enough sleep. Louis warily took in the heavy bags under his eyes.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" he asked worried. Zayn nodded. Couldn't have been a lot though. "Maybe go to bed early today?" Louis suggested cautiously. Zayn silently nodded again. It broke Louis’ heart to see his friend this numb and unresponsive so he put an arm around Zayn's shoulder and they stayed like this for the rest of the bus ride.

At home Louis decided to cook again and poured them some wine to go with it. Not because he wanted it to be particularly classy, but to help Zayn fall asleep early. He really didn't look that well. Maybe Zayn was thinking more about the Liam thing than he let on after all...

They talked about some mundane work related things during dinner but Louis was reluctant to breach the Liam subject again so soon. So instead of talking about the elephant in the room, Louis showered Zayn with affection and pampered him as much as possible. His work seemed to pay off: the next day, Zayn already started to look a bit better.

On Wednesday though, Zayn was ill.

When Louis woke up from the annoying noise his alarm clock produced, Zayn was still in bed beside him. Confused, Louis looked at him and gently shook him awake.

"Zayn! Zayn wake up! You'll be late for work," he said and got up to switch on the light. Zayn just mumbled incoherently. "Mate. Really now," Louis tried again, aimlessly walking around in their room, making a bit of a ruckus. When no proper response came from Zayn, he walked back to the bed to try and shake him awake when he saw the sweat on Zayn's brow. With one hand on his brow and one on Zayn's he felt his temperature.

"Mate! You're burning up!" Louis said very worried. Zayn's eyes fluttered open and looked very glassy, his lips unnaturally pale and a deep red flush on his cheeks. "I'm alright," he mumbled and tried to get up.

"No. You're not. I'm going to call your work and then mine to tell them that I will be late," Louis said, gently pressing Zayn back down. Zayn only nodded weakly in response.

Since Zayn really was burning up, Louis took some Ibuprofen from the kitchen and a bottle of water with a glass and a straw. "Drink something and take the medicine, I'll be back after calling work."

Zayn gulped down the pill and a whole glass of water while Louis called their workplaces.

When Louis came back he put up the blinders halfway and switched off the light. Zayn grunted his approval. "Right. I only managed to get half the day off. I'll be back around noon. You're in no condition to leave the flat, do you understand? I'll put some cut-up fruit in the fridge and leave some water bottles with you. Be sure to drink lots and sleep," Louis said sternly. Zayn nodded weakly. "Good," Louis acknowledged leaving the room to prepare the food. He came back with some apple slices, two more bottles of water and a wet towel for Zayn's head.

"Let’s change your drenched clothes before I leave," Louis suggested, leaving no room for discussion. He helped Zayn change into new boxers and a t-shirt and put a towel between him and the sheets. "Do you need something else?" he asked finally. Zayn shook his head. Louis cradled Zayn's face gently and gently kissed his brow. "I'll be back soon," he promised and left their flat.

Louis' concentration at work was really shitty today. Thankfully, he managed to avoid a rather huge mistake just in time, but leaving Zayn at the flat alone in his condition didn't really sit well with him.

When he took a smoking break he remembered their date with Liam this evening. "Shit," he mumbled and hastily texted Liam.

_/Hey Liam. We won't be able to make it today. Zayn's ill and I have to look after him when I'm home. He got a bad fever/_

Liam responded instantly.

_/Sad to hear that :( I hope he will be well soon! Just text me to reschedule!/_

Louis sighed.

At 2:30 he left work and went grocery shopping and stopped by at the pharmacy.

Whilst on the bus he was tapping his foot nervously. Earlier he had tried to call Zayn, but he didn't respond. He was probably just asleep, but Louis was still worried.

Inside the flat he hastily set down all his stuff and went to their bedroom. The air smelled of illness and Zayn was breathing heavily, the water untouched beside the bed.

"Zayn! You didn't drink anything! Have you slept while I was gone?" Zayn was awake but rather delirious. Louis went to get a thermometer and promptly put it into Zayn's mouth. 40°C. This was not good. He immediately got some fever reducing medicine from the pharmacy bag, which he proceeded to pour down Zayn's throat, followed by some water.

"Mate, if your body temperature isn't going down soon, we'll have to take you to the hospital," Louis said worried. Zayn groaned indistinctively.

Thankfully Louis wasn't new to nursing people. He had looked after his little sisters when they were ill several times and his mom was a nurse.

He opened the windows to let some fresh air in and went to the bathroom to wet the towel again. When he came back he closed the windows again and tried to convince Zayn to drink another few gulps.

Now he had to wait. Hopefully the medicine would do its job soon...

Three days were enough for the flat to fall back into utter chaos, so he busied himself with cleaning up. About an hour later he came back to check up on Zayn, who was asleep again. The towel was grossly warm, so he wet it again and put it back on Zayn's brow.

What else was there to do?

He really didn't feel like watching TV or playing xBox, so he made himself a cuppa and grabbed a book from the shelf - Peter Pan. He hadn't read that one in a long time.

After around half an hour Zayn woke up coughing. Louis put his book aside immediately. "How are you feeling?" he asked in a neutral tone. Zayn drank a whole glass voluntarily.

"Horrible," he said, looking like it. Louis nodded and motioned to Zayn to measure his temperature again. Zayn opened his mouth without resistance. When the little piece of plastic beeped the display read 38°C.

"Good," Louis nodded, sitting down beside Zayn. "How about another change of clothes and some food?" he suggested in an easy tone. "Not sure if I can eat much, but yeah," Zayn replied weakly. They changed his t-shirt again and Louis fluffed up the pillows a little.

When he went to the kitchen his phone, still on the bedside table, vibrated. Zayn took it from there and stared at the display with misty eyes.

It was Liam, texting via WhatsApp.

_/Can you give me your address?/_

Zayn didn't know and he didn't care what they had talked about, he was just tired and hungry and his whole body was sore. So he just typed in their address and put down the phone.

Sometime later Louis came back with a warm bowl of porridge, a smirk on his face. "Shall I feed you?" he asked grinning like a cat. Zayn snorted. "Nah. I can hold the spoon. Leave the nurse dress in the closet." Zayn ate exactly 5 spoons before setting the bowl down. Louis frowned. He knew that his cooking couldn’t taste _that_ bad and Zayn needed to get his strength back up. He was about to coerce Zayn into eating some more when the doorbell rang.

Louis cocked one eyebrow and went to open the door. He didn't expect Liam to stand in front of it, when he opened.

"What might you be doing here? You want to have some extra holidays from being sick?" he asked teasingly.

The only thing that Liam did was smile and embrace him. Louis did reciprocate reluctantly. "I thought I bring you some homemade chicken soup. It always helped me as a kid when I was ill. May I come in?" Liam asked cautiously.

Louis took a mock bow. "Be my guest," he said in his poshest voice and moved backwards to make space for Liam. In this exact moment Zayn coughed audibly in the bedroom. Liam glanced worriedly in the direction of the door. "Is he alright?" he asked. Louis sighed. "No, but he will be in time. It's just a bad cold." Well, at least he hoped that was the case. There was no use in worrying Liam unnecessarily. Liam kicked his shoes off, hung his jacket on the coat rack and made his way to the bedroom door.

While Louis went to the kitchen to make tea for them, Liam knocked on the bedroom door and entered. Zayn had changed into one of his many batman shirts and thankfully wasn't drenched in sweat again, because Liam looked fabulous. "Hey," Liam said softly. "Hey," Zayn croaked back. His throat felt very raw, even the water didn't help that much.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Liam asked. Zayn shook his head and motioned for him to take a seat. The silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, more companionable. Liam slowly stretched out his arm to lay his cold palm on Zayn's brow. Zayn sighed relieved and slowly closed his eyes. The coldness of Liam's palm felt incredible on his warm skin. What Zayn couldn't see was the fond smile on Liam's face.

Louis entered a minute after, clinking with the cups to announce his presence. Zayn kept his eyes closed, a peaceful look on his face. Louis gave one mug to Liam and kept the other one, sitting down beside Zayn on the bed.

After another moment in silence he asked Liam: "Have you eaten yet? I made some porridge for Zayn but I haven't eaten yet." Liam shook his head no. Since Zayn was now awake, Louis figured he would get bored rather soon. When Louis had a similar case of the cold two months ago, reading wasn't an option because of the headache that came with it. Zayn had spent the whole weekend cuddled up with him on the couch, watching Disney movies. "How about I order some pizza for us, Liam, and we watch Disney movies together?" he suggested. Zayn opened his eyes and looked at him grateful, Louis smiled in response. "Why not? I intended to spend some time with you, if you let me, anyway," Liam said smiling.

Louis clapped Liam on the shoulder and proceeded to the kitchen in search of their pizza delivery pamphlet. Meanwhile Liam pulled another princely move. He scooped up Zayn huddled in the blanket and carried him to what he suspected was the living room. Zayn made an undignified noise but understood that resistance was futile. His fever-addled mind was trying to process what was happening and when it clicked some part of his brain started to construct wild fantasies about Liam's muscular biceps.

When Liam set him down on the couch Zayn wasn't so sure if the heat he felt was purely the fever.

Louis finished his phone call and walked into the living room. "Huh," he said, with a cocked eyebrow, "good that you're already settled," and sat down on Zayn's other side. "Pizza will take about 30 minutes, what are we watching?" After a brief pause of switching on Netflix he said: "What about Peter Pan?" Zayn grunted. Not his favourite movie. "What about Hercules?" Liam threw his hat in the ring. "Lion King 2," Zayn mumbled. So Lion King 2 it was.

Louis bowed mockingly. "Your wish is my command."

Louis moved around a bit till he sat comfortably, with his arm around Zayn's shoulder. Liam remained in his position and only moved his arm when Zayn dragged his still cold hand to cool his brow again.

Zayn relaxed more and more. When the pizza delivery guy rang he was almost fast asleep again.

Liam took it upon himself to open the door and pay the man. Louis didn't bother to ask Liam to share the bill. If Liam was fine with paying, so was Louis.

When the movie was finished, all the pizza had been eaten and Zayn was fast asleep on the couch, Liam cautiously moved his hand away from Zayn's brow and stood up.

Louis untangled himself from Zayn, who still slept like a baby and followed Liam to the door.

Not looking at Liam he said "it was nice of you to bring the soup for Zayn, you know," in a hushed voice. Liam smiled at Louis, even though he couldn't see his face properly. Dressed ready to leave, he took Louis' face in both hands, forcing Louis to look at him, still the gentle smile on his face and kissed Louis' forehead softly. "Take good care of him," Liam said before he closed the door behind him.

Louis was too stunned to do anything, otherwise he probably would have thrown a huge temper tantrum and thus woken up Zayn. A blush creeped rather fast on his cheeks and his neck. Oh the audacity Liam had! But the warm feeling in Louis chest melted the anger away fast and so the only thing left was walking back to the living room and watching another movie, while keeping an eye on Zayn.


	10. Chapter 10

The following week, Zayn was healthy again. On Monday his skin was still a bit pale, but on Tuesday he was back to his normal self.

Louis behaved a bit weird whenever Zayn mentioned Liam. Something must have happened on Wednesday evening while Zayn was asleep, but honestly the whole day was quite hazy when he tried to remember, so most of the time he didn't think about it. Liam also mentioned that Louis' replies in their own chat on were rather short and moody. He on the other hand had great conversations with Liam. Liam liked to talk about his workout program and the weird stuff Harry, his friend and yoga instructor, did on a daily basis. Zayn in turn talked to him about his art and comic books. It turned out Liam was also a comic book fan even though Zayn currently preferred DC over Marvel and it was the other way around for Liam. Both of them read the same Spiderman series though, so when Zayn went home from work he picked up the latest issue of their Spiderman comic, one for him and one for Liam. Since the shop was not on his way, he missed his bus.

He shot a short message to Louis, telling him that he'd take the next bus and then texted Liam about the comic, / _Got your issue_./ with a little spider icon.

Liam replied fast: / _Yes! Thank you! How would you like having a drink soon? You could give me the comic then :)/_

A warm smile spread on Zayn's face _.  
/ I'd like that. Gonna ask Louis when he's free_./ he answered.

Promptly he wrote: / _Li asked for another bar-date. Are you free Saturday?/_

It took some time for Louis to reply. / _Yeah/._ That was it. No further comment that he'd like Liam to pay or anything. Weird.

Zayn sighed heavily and wrote Liam back. How Liam always had the time to respond so fast, Zayn had no clue. Shortly after Zayn's mobile vibrated with his response.

_/Very good :) Let's meet again at 9, Vauxhall?/_

Zayn just sent back a thumbs up emoji and got on the bus.

At home Louis had indulged in cooking, again. He had cooked roughly four times the last past four days, which was unusually often. Zayn didn't mind, practice was always good. They had chicken curry, which tasted quite good actually. Louis really needed to stop telling everyone what a shit cook he was.

"Might not come on Saturday," Louis mumbled around a full mouth. Zayn cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Why?" he asked plainly. Louis chewed on his food thoughtfully. "My mood is horrible; don't want to destroy the date."

Tell me something new, Zayn thought, even though he immediately felt a bit bad about it. It was just that Louis’ bad moods – just like everything else he did, really – were 200 times more intense than in other people. And Zayn really didn’t want to fuck this thing with Liam up. And something was telling him that Louis bitching throughout their entire date wouldn’t help their budding relationship.

"What did he do?" Zayn asked curiously. It had something to do with Liam; that was beyond dispute. "Nothing," Louis replied. There was definitely something.

"Bullshit," Zayn said, setting down his cutlery. Or maybe it was another matter ... "Mate, when was the last time you had a proper wank?" They were used to casual sex and definitely more than just giving each other a handjob every one and a half week.

Louis looked at him amused. "Are you offering or what?"

Zayn sighed. "Obviously." Yeah. Obviously. That wasn't his plan, he just wanted to ask but since Louis obviously wanted it than he could as well go with it.

Louis took up eating again. No. He wasn't underfucked. Or more like he was, but that wasn't his current concern. When Liam kissed his brow back on Wednesday evening, a warm and fuzzy feeling spread through his body. The thought of Liam's gentle smile made his heart beat a little faster. And Louis didn't like it. He really didn't. Yes, they had some kind of relationship agreement with Liam, but he really wasn't keen on having a serious crush on Liam or - god forbid - fall in love. His main goal was still a proper fuck with a fit bloke, but currently everything tilted heavily to a real relationship. On one hand Louis had an ache deep in his chest where a not so well healed wound was still in his heart. He craved love. But the chance of getting hurt was just too big; he probably would break if his heart would be torn to shreds again.

Fooling around with Zayn was a good distraction though. And maybe he wouldn't think that much about Liam anymore that way. Maybe he could even go to the date as well.

After dinner they put the dishes in the sink and Zayn took his hand, pulling him into the bathroom. "Shower?" Zayn asked casually. Louis nodded.

"You alright? You haven't talked much since I'm home," Zayn questioned him, trying to sound not too worried.

"M'fine," Louis replied.

I don't believe you, Zayn thought, not looking at Louis' thoughtful expression. They shed their clothes and proceeded to the shower. When Zayn switched on the hot water, Louis pictured all his worries and insecurities washing down the drain, the water losing the muscles in his back. He sighed pleased, that was much better. Zayn looked at him, his hair matted down from the spray and his long lashes wet. Zayn was just so beautiful, Louis wondered if it was weird to always think that in these kind of situations. Technically Zayn was always beautiful.

Zayn had really no clue what was going on in Louis' head. First he was all quiet and now he just stared at Zayn. He preferred his brash personality and mischievous version over this quiet one, Zayn was plenty quiet for them both. He grabbed Louis' wet hair with one hand and placed the other on Louis' hip, moving in for a not gentle, but just on the edge of rough, kiss. Louis responded with delay. Seriously, what was wrong with this kid?

When they broke apart desperate for air, Louis laughed lightly. It was a good idea. His lips tingled from the contact and the pull on his hair made his body vibrate in anticipation. "What do you suggest?" Louis murmured in a low timber.

Zayn chuckled, yes, this was his Louis again. "I'm in a good mood," he answered lowly. Louis cocked an eyebrow questioningly and Zayn just squeezed his bum suggestively. He pushed Louis slightly to the wall of the shower and followed, chasing Louis' lips, crowding him. Zayn kissed and bit down several times Louis' throat before sliding to his knees, taking in the sight of Louis' prick growing more and more interested. He spread shower gel evenly on his right hand and pinned Louis' hip to the wall with the other. Pulling back the foreskin cautiously, he slightly blew on the head of Louis' cock, feeling Louis shivering through the hand on his hip. Then he began slowly stroking Louis' length, looking up at Louis and locking eyes with him. Zayn licked his lips suggestively, observing the flicker of Louis' gaze to his lips. Louis body radiated heat, Zayn could practically feel it. With an audible smack of his lips, he ducked his head and placed a slow kiss on Louis dick, foreskin pulled back again. With a lazy swirl from his tongue, he coaxed a sweet moan from Louis. Zayn smiled around Louis head. Hollowing his cheek he sucked hard on the head, pumping the length more vigorously. Louis was out of breath already, his legs trembling a little. Zayn removed his left hand to scoop up some slick from Louis' prick, sliding between his legs. Louis closed his eyes, seeing a very vivid image of Zayn getting fucked by Liam behind his eyelids. "Shit," he breathed out. Shit, this was so hot! He couldn't wait to see that in person, not thinking about his plan of forgetting Liam for a while at all.

Zayn doubled his effort, circling Louis' ring of muscles with one finger slowly. Louis gasped. "Zayn, I'm gonna..." Louis ended with a moan, when Zayn slipped the finger inside, coming with a spurt in Zayn's mouth. Zayn choked a little, it was a bit much. Coughing he asked, "Mate. Can you even remember the last time?" It took some seconds for Louis to catch his breath again. He grinned happily, his mind pleasantly blank for the moment. Louis pulled Zayn up, stealing a kiss from him and slipping his tongue in to taste the rest of himself. He moved away, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, making a disgusted noise. "Yeah, I know," Zayn said, laughing. Zayn ruffled Louis' hair and started to clean himself. Louis did the same. Zayn really was the best. Maybe that was not the solution, but at least Louis' mood was better and his thoughts weren't spiralling anymore.

He basically shared everything with Zayn. Partners, a flat, the bed, showers, clothes, weed, his own come - gross and even a toothbrush - even grosser. Granted, Zayn didn't know. Sometimes Louis forgot to buy new toothbrushes and then he threw his away before checking and well it was either use Zayn's or go without brushing his teeth so...

Later in bed, he went for cuddles. And Zayn just let him. Louis was glad, since asking for cuddles was not an option his pride currently allowed. Zayn understood, even without words. Zayn was... Zayn was just his very good friend with benefits who basically shared everything was with him. Zayn was just his Zayn.


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the week went by rather peacefully.  Louis' mood was increasing steadily and he had finally stopped stress-cooking, so Zayn and he were back to enjoying greasy take away. Liam had sent a happy message to Zayn Wednesday afternoon. It seemed like Louis was communicating properly again. Zayn was really looking forward to their date on Saturday.

Since they didn't go pulling on Friday evening, they spent it lazing around, playing Fifa.

"Zayn, you're shit at this!" Louis shouted frustrated and dramatically slid down the couch in exaggerated agony. Louis bought every new edition and technically they had been playing Fifa for years, but for some reason Zayn was still incredibly shitty at it. Zayn set his controller down and cocked an eyebrow at Louis.

"Well we can always play Marvel vs. Capcom or JoJo's you know," he said with a shit eating grin, fully aware that Louis hated those game, probably because he was proper shit at them. Louis tsked. He unlocked his phone and called Liam.

"Li! We have a situation here. Can't you come over? Zayn's utter shit at Fifa!" Zayn looked amused. He loved seeing Louis joking around with Liam. He didn’t even mind being the butt of the joke. Maybe Louis would even warm up to the idea of a proper relationship.

Liam greeted Louis with a surprised but gentle laugh, "Sorry Louis," he said in a hushed voice, "Harry is throwing one of his Ayurveda parties and I'm currently at his." Louis gave Zayn a dumbfounded look and made a face. He really couldn’t imagine voluntarily staying at an _Ayurveda party_ of all places. Zayn snorted. "Right. Have fun," Louis replied and ended the call. "Ayurveda parties," Louis mumbled, shaking his head disbelievingly, popping a crisp in his mouth.

"Peter Pan?" Zayn suggested as peace offering and proceeded to search for the DVD.

Louis sighed. "No smoking this time. You know how out of hand it got last time."

Zayn nodded, turning away his face to hide his grin. They definitely wouldn't talk about the stoned Peter Pan incident ever again, but reminding Zayn to not mention it again was still a good idea.

Louis shuffled to the kitchen to mix some drinks for them.

When he came back the main menu was already on display and Zayn had comfortably spread on the couch.

"Move, or I will lie down on top of you," Louis threatened with a growl. Zayn completely ignored him and so Louis just flopped down on him and wiggled till he was comfortable. Zayn started the movie and took a sip from his glass.

Zayn fell asleep around half of the movie, they just watched it too often.

Louis sighed and finished his drink and after a short moment of consideration downed Zayn's as well.  It wasn’t like his friend would want to finish it tomorrow morning. Zayn's phone on the table vibrated showing a message from Liam. Louis cocked an eyebrow. Surely Liam was still busy with this horrible party at Harry's?

The struggle with his conscience lasted only a second before Louis took Zayn's phone and read the message.

_/Hey :) Glad to be able to escape the party for a sec. I hope you're having fun? Looking forward to tomorrow./_

Hm. That just sounded normal Liam like. Well, but if he already had Zayn's phone in hand he could read a bit further back...

After a while Louis' mood got a tad sour.

They were all lovey-dovey while he had been in a shit mood, worrying about the whole relationship business. Wasn't that just great? He smacked down Zayn's phone and woke him up. Zayn blinked owlishly at him.

"Movies' over. I'm going to bed," Louis sad grumpily and left the room. Zayn got up with a yawn and cleaned up their glasses and bowls before using the bathroom after Louis and falling into bed himself.

That would be just a great date on Saturday, Louis thought bitterly while he laid awake in the dark, Zayn already snoring peacefully next to him.

 

Louis didn't feel that moody in the morning anymore, but he still wasn’t in a good mood. He went out early in the morning, throwing on trackies and a hoodie, going for a walk. He came back around 10 with freshly baked stuff, feeling a lot better.

He made tea and woke up Zayn. It was just unbelievable how much this guy could sleep.

They had no proper plan for the day except their date, but the fridge was empty and Louis had still too much pent up energy in his body, his fingers itching for a bit of violence. Around a mouth full of cake he asked, "Gym after breakfast and then groceries?" Zayn nodded.

"Kay. Lend me your spare gloves." It wasn't really a plea, more a command, reflecting Louis' mood.

'What again?' Zayn thought, repressing a sigh. "Up for a proper beating, Tommo?" Zayn asked, smiling lazily

Louis made a hissing noise. "We will see," he replied, cleaning up the table.

Something was going on, but pressing Louis about it would only sour his mood further.

After breakfast both went to the gym, Zayn packing his spare gear as well and Louis brooding in silence. The tension was apparent and after doing a bit of cardio, both entered the boxing ring.

Zayn played it down a bit, since Louis only trained when he felt like it and Zayn's techniques were more advanced. That was a mistake, Zayn noticed before Louis' first hit connected. Louis was fighting viciously today, buzzing with energy. He didn't fight dirty and also never hit Zayn's face, but he did land some blows before Zayn ended the round, both breathing heavily. It was a good fight, and Louis felt a bit better after it. Most likely both of them would probably have bruises the next day, but that was okay.

On their way home Louis was in a better mood, whistling a tune, his steps just a light tab on the concrete.

Zayn still didn't understand where the mood swing came from, but if it all was solved that easily he was fine with it.

After grocery shopping Zayn disappeared in his crafting room, finishing a project he had started two days ago. He wanted Liam to see it, and intended to give it to him with the comic. Louis busied himself with reorganising their closet, effectively producing more chaos than before.

At around six Louis ordered food for them, while Zayn was still holed up in his crafting room.

When the food arrived Louis' mood was almost at 80 percent again. The prospect of fucking up Liam's perception of them was just too good. He already had laid out his clothes for the evening, consisting of very tight black skinnies, a loose fitting tank top, which didn’t leave much to the imagination due to its low cut neckline and graciously cut armholes. He was sure Zayn would wear his favourite jewellery and kohl, which made him look like oriental royalty.

Louis cranked up his lowly playing music, singing back at Chester to Bleed It Out. Zayn appeared in the kitchen while Louis was perfecting Mike's second rap verse. "Food?!" he shouted over the music, turning down the volume.

"What we got?" Zayn asked interested.

"Chicken biriyani," Louis answered grinning, putting servings on plates for them. They sat down, Louis clinking his fork rhythmically on the table to the beat of the music, munching on the food happily. A private smile spread on Zayn's face. He was glad to have the enthusiastic Louis back.

"You have any idea what you gonna wear, yet?" Louis asked with a glint in his eyes, clearing away their plates a bit later.

"Actually, yeah," Zayn replied, thoughtfully. "Goin' for the ripped skinnies with the sheer black button down and the rings from my Da I guess."

Louis clapped his hands enthusiastically. "You wanna hop in the shower first?" he asked. They did shower at the gym but they had a specific pre-date shower policy, so both intended to shower again before leaving the flat.

"Yeah," and with that Zayn left Louis alone in the kitchen, to crank the music back up again. Louis poured both of them Gin in two tumblers and gave one to Zayn when he left for the bathroom. Louis clinked their glasses together, took a healthy gulp and proceeded to the shower.

Zayn had to grin when he came into the bedroom, part of his outfit already laid out on the bed. Someone was enthusiastic today. He swapped his regular briefs for snug fitting ones, just in case and dressed in very tight fitting ripped, black skinnies and a black snug fitting shirt with very thin fabric, rolling up his sleeves to the elbow. He popped open the first and second button of the shirt to show the tiniest hint of his chest tattoo. From a box he pulled a golden nose ring and a tiny nose pin. Further accessories he added were two golden rings, one carved like a snake and the other one a signet ring and a braided dark brown leather bracelet. Almost ready. When Louis came into their room, whistling at Zayn's appearance, Zayn went to add the final touch.

Louis towel dried his hair roughly and put on clothes. He too put on tight fitting skinnies, and rolled them up to his ankles, the white top he had thought about, which read 'fuck you'… when he did a handstand in front of the mirror and then began styling his hair. Last time he had put a lot of effort into blow-drying it to perfection, today he was going for a look that screamed hot mess. As Louis finished his drink, Zayn entered, presenting himself to Louis, styled hair and kohl perfecting his look. With his empty glass he motioned for the kitchen. Louis hooked on finger in Zayn's belt loop and pulled him in his vicinity, whispering against his lips in a low voice, "Well hello there, handsome," with a pleased smile.

Zayn closed the distance kissing Louis firmly on the lips, freeing himself and leaving for the kitchen with a chuckle. "Shame, we're not pulling today!" Louis shouted after him, grabbing his glass and following him.

Two drinks later, both pocketed their standard equipment for a night out and left the flat, Zayn with his jacket just in case.


	12. Chapter 12

When they met Liam at the station, all three of them were more than just a little bit surprised.

Liam was openly gaping at them and Louis did a double take at Liam's 'gangster inspired' look.

Well, well, well, that was interesting.

Louis dragged Zayn to Liam and gave Liam a firm kiss. "Mate, that's a bit Drake much," Louis said with a chuckle, pointing at the gold chain around Liam's neck.

Liam grinned and replied, "Yeah well, it seems we all decided to wear clothes we feel more comfortable in," winking at Zayn.

Louis rolled his eyes a bit annoyed. "Obviously," he commented.

"Let's get going then," he added after a minute, leading the way to the bar from last time.

The bar was packed, but their booth from last time was still available.

Zayn slipped in beside Liam, while Louis took a seat facing them. Shrugging out of his jacket, Zayn went for the bar.

Meanwhile Liam smiled wide at Louis, "How have you been?" he asked.

"You could have texted me as much as Zayn," Louis mumbled under his breath fixing a spot on the table. When Liam just blinked at him, clearly confused, Louis scrunched his face up into a smile and replied properly, "I gave Zayn a proper beating today." It wasn't entirely true but it wasn't a lie either, so all good. Liam looked dubiously at Louis, when Zayn brought back their drinks. Coke & Bacardi for Liam and two whiskies for Louis and himself.

Louis felt his mood getting sour again and chucked his whisky down in one go, fumbling for the blunt in Zayn's jacket pocket. "I'm gonna," he said, motioning to the door. Zayn nodded silently, a neutral look on his face.

"Wanker," Louis spat out irritated while lighting the blunt. After three deep drags he felt considerably more relaxed. He didn't even know why he was so irritated in the first place, he really had hoped to have a great night...

After another few drags he put the blunt out again and went inside.

Passing by the bar to get another drink, Louis came back to the sight of Zayn sitting closer to Liam with Liam's arm draped around his shoulders, animated discussing whatever.

"You two look cosy," Louis quipped in a very controlled voice, he thought. "Louis! You're back!" Liam exclaimed happily. Zayn pointed at the shot glasses in front of him as explanation and shrugged. With a slightly sour look Louis sat down on his original spot.

"Zayn is so amazing! Look what he drew me!" Liam babbled on in an animated fashion, showing Louis an A5 drawing of Liam as Spiderman with glee. Louis only cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't it look awesome?" Liam asked still in awe.

"Zayn is pretty good at drawing, yes," Louis answered, sipping on his drink. Zayn just sighed and Louis kicked him under the table. "What was that for?" Zayn asked, quickly becoming irritated as well. There was simply no reason for Louis to be such an arse. It wasn't Zayn's fault that Louis was on his period or something, jeez.

Louis just ignored Zayn and began rubbing Liam's calf with his foot. "Liam, would you like to sit beside me?" he asked sweetly. Liam looked confused now. "I'm fine here, thanks. Next time?" he suggested smiling. Louis tsked audibly. "Fine. How about I leave you two to it then?" and slipped out of the booth.

Zayn grabbed his arm to hold him back. "Don't," Louis hissed at Zayn, removing Zayn's hand and just left the bar. Normally Zayn would have tried harder to hinder Louis from leaving, but at some point even he had enough. Facing Liam he said, "Don't you worry, gorgeous, he'll be fine," smiling lazily at Liam. Liam just nodded, pocketing his comic and Zayn's drawing. "How about we have another drink?" he suggested.

"Yeah, 'course!" Liam replied with a twinkle in his eyes, going for drinks. The smile slipped from Zayn's face the moment Liam left for the bar. He pulled his phone from his pocket, texting Louis.

_/That was uncalled for/._

_/Fuck off/._ came Louis’ prompt reply.

Well then, Zayn was above throwing insults at each other. He pocketed his phone with a hard look and plastered a smile on his face when he saw Liam approaching the table with drinks for them both. He had no reason to not have fun with Liam, even more so since Louis decided to behave like a total prick.

Some time and several drinks later, he was full-on snogging with Liam in the booth. Liam had one hand on Zayn's neck and the other on his hip, while Zayn had one fisted into Liam's hoodie and the other slowly sliding down to his lap. They broke their kiss for air, Liam nosing along Zayn's throat. When Liam placed a soft kiss with wet lips there and Zayn's hand finally landed on Liam's crotch, Zayn only barely managed to drag Liam to the gents’ room, before Liam pushed their bodies flush together, slipping one hand under Zayn's shirt. Zayn gasped audibly and squeezed Liam's bum earning a groan from him. They were both more than a little buzzed. Liam stared at him with glazed over eyes, biting his lip till he looked even more debauched. Zayn's skinnies felt so incredibly tight, he couldn't take it much longer. "What is it?" he breathed out.

"Let me blow you," Liam asked cautiously. Zayn just nodded, undoing his fly while Liam got to his knees. Thankfully, the bathroom was rather clean.

When Liam pulled down Zayn's briefs, Zayn muttered curses under his breath, fully hard already. The look Liam shot him was almost too much, full of awe and pupils blown wide. Spitting in his hand, Liam got to work. Zayn knew he wouldn't last long. When Liam replaced his hand with his mouth Zayn outright moaned, feeling the wet heat around his leaking cock. Judging Liam's skill was definitely not on his mind, as he felt Liam swiping his tongue around the head and licking over the tip. Zayn came with another curse on his lips, sliding down the wall of the stall. Liam coughed, a bit of come dribbling down his chin. With a dreamy look on his face he wiped it away with his sleeve. Zayn stretched out his arm weakly to reach for the waistband of Liam's pants, before Liam stopped his hand gently.

"I'm good," Liam said, his voice scratchy, blushing slightly. Zayn cocked an eyebrow before the realisation hit him. A grin spread on his face and he stored the knowledge away for later. A very drunk Liam, was a pliant, obedient Liam, who actually came from blowing you. Zayn pulled Liam into a chaste kiss and began tugging himself back in.

"Maybe, I should leave," Liam mumbled unsure, self-conscious.

"Go home then and to bed," Zayn replied gently, not feeling irritated by their previous situation early that evening anymore.

Liam nodded and tailed after Zayn, leaving the bar. Outside both went their ways with a final kiss.

Zayn waved before entering the tube.

At home, he kicked off his shoes and flopped down on the couch beside Louis, who promptly left and went to bed.

Zayn raked one hand through his hair and lit a cigarette.

Whatever.


	13. Chapter 13

Louis woke up quite early.

Zayn had looked sated when he came home. Just the quick glance at his face was enough to annoy Louis even more. What the fuck did he think he was doing? Leaving them on their own surely wasn't meant to be a free pass for getting lucky!

At this point swallowing his anger wasn't an option anymore. Brooding, he sat down at their kitchen table, a steaming mug in hand. Why did he think it was a good idea to start a relationship with another party in the first place? Clearly, it had been a mistake.

The sound of Zayn emerging from their bedroom let Louis tear his gaze back to the room.

"Mornin'," Zayn mumbled sleepily on his way to fix himself a cuppa. Zayn froze when he looked into Louis' face, Louis’ eyes fixating him with a cold stare.

Zayn snorted, "Really now?" and poured hot water into his cup. Louis just bit down harder, his jawline emphasising his hard look.

"Wha? You can't expect me to live abstinent just because you can't get your shit together," Zayn sneered.

Anger flared up in Louis' guts. "You said we're in this together!" he shouted, irritated.

Zayn tsked audibly in response. "Not when you behave like a total prick!" he replied, wide awake and very annoyed now.

"You monopolise him! How is this supposed to be an equal thing?" because that was the real issue here, wasn't it?! How could Louis compete with the gorgeous and oh so talented Zayn when Liam clearly was enamoured with Zayn more than him!

"Maybe then stop being such a selfish bitch all the time!" Zayn spat back.

Him?! Selfish?! The audacity Zayn had! "What the fuck?! Are you sure you're not talking about yourself here?!" Louis exploded, slamming down his cup and spilling tea everywhere.

Zayn just looked at him darkly. "You know what? I don't have to be treated like that," Zayn said slowly, a calm finality in his voice. He left the room, not looking back, leaving his steaming mug on the counter.

Louis sat there in a daze, faintly hearing the sounds of Zayn ripping clothes from their cabinet and slamming the front door shut. Suddenly, the flat was eerily silent.

Fuck. In a surge of more anger, Louis swept both mugs from the table, letting them crash on the floor. "Fuck!!!" he shouted, angry, hurt and distraught. Why was he so angry and short tempered all the time? Maybe that was the real reason why the others had left him?

The thing was, he kind of wanted to hurt Zayn, because he was hurt himself somehow. The nagging voice in the back of his head slowly became more evident. What if? What if Liam had been more interested in Zayn from the beginning? What if Zayn rather spend time with Liam than with him? What if his outburst would cause him to effectively lose them both? Good god, why was he so stupid?!

Slowly he bowed down to pick up the shards of their two mugs and promptly cut himself. Hot tears pricked at the corners of his eyes when he remembered how Zayn would normally take care of patching him up. "Fuck," he murmured defeated.


	14. Chapter 14

When the door slammed shut, Zayn aggressively marched down the staircase, slamming the door to their building shut, too.

His hot anger was cooling down already, replacing it with cold fire and resentment. He didn't care if Louis was lonely now or whatever! This behaviour was just unacceptable. He hadn't done anything wrong. No, he hadn't.

When he exited the tube later, he marched to Niall’s flat.   
During the ride he had shot him a text that he would come over to stay at his.  
Niall was really relaxed and had space enough to spare, he really had just texted him to know if he was home.  
Niall was a pro golfer he got to know during one of their nightly adventures, he was his catch alone though. Normally, he wouldn't have met him again, but mysteriously enough Niall surprised him in his shop, looking for new polo shirts. Ever since they had been friends and keeping in contact. There had never been anything sexual between them, just warm friendship.

When he rang the doorbell to the building it took only seconds for Niall to buzz the door open for him. Niall’s flat was in one of the top floors of a rather expensive building.   
Seconds later Niall opened the door to his flat with a curious look on his face. "You're lucky, I just came back. Please excuse the mess. Is something wrong?"

Zayn threw his bag down. "Just, let me stay for a few days?" he pleaded, but didn’t give an explanation.

"Yeah, kay," Niall said, stepping back. "We can share the bed or you can crash on the couch?" he offered, in a friendly tone.

"Couch is fine, thanks." Zayn kicked of his boots and shed his jacket. When he flopped down on the couch and Niall set down a cuppa in front of him, he sighed deeply.

"You don't have to talk about it, yeah? But if you want to, feel free to," Niall suggested warmly.

Zayn nodded. "D'you maybe have some art supplies?" he asked, in a calm voice.

Niall looked around, searching for the requested material. "Maybe paper and pencil, if that's okay?" Zayn nodded, taking up his mug.  
  
While Niall was searching through his cupboards, Zayn got a bit lost in thought. He didn't understand why Louis had been that moody and what caused him to snap completely. Louis’ moping around wasn’t an unusual thing per se, but usually he calmed down rather quickly. Surely it wasn't just Liam's behaviour that annoyed him? Sure, Zayn had been ticked off a bit by Louis wanting to beat him in boxing, but that couldn’t have been the reason for Louis completely losing his shit, could it?

Niall sat down the supplies in front of him and left him be, but when he wanted to start drafting, his phone suddenly vibrated. A text from Liam.  
_/Hey :) Hope you've found your way home and things are okay with Louis again?/_  
Fuck. He couldn't do this right now. Pretending that everything was just fine was not going to happen. He left Liam on read and pocketed his phone, muted.  
Rain began falling outside, the sky all grey. Ridiculous, how well the weather fit his mood.

Louis did not text him at all that day. Not like Zayn had expected him to, anyway.

In the evening Zayn pulled his phone back out, pondering if he should text Liam. The bit of guilt for leaving him on read won and he texted Liam a short message.  
_/ Not right now. I need time./_  
He knew that it would sound cryptic, but honestly? He didn't give a fuck.  
Niall thankfully left him to his own devices. Zayn went to bed early after a rather silent meal and that was it.

The next two days, Zayn went to work from Niall's place.   
Louis didn't text or call and Liam left him alone. His sketches looked dull, sad.

On Wednesday Zayn borrowed some clothes from Niall and accompanied him to the gym.   
He was just getting ready for a boxing match, when a person came into his view. A person he only knew from a picture. "Harry?" he asked the approaching yoga instructor.

"Yes?" he replied with a friendly smile on his face, occasionally ogling Niall who was doing some cardio training. Was this the gym Liam was working at? And why didn't he know that Niall regularly went to Liam's gym???

"Is Liam working here?" Zayn asked, slightly panicked. Harry raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Yeah, but he has today off." God bless the Queen, Zayn thought, calming down a bit.

In that moment Niall approached them, earning a small clap on the bum from Harry. Niall giggled. Niall giggled? What in the world was going on?

"You want to join my upcoming yoga class?" Harry asked Zayn, smirking at Niall.  
Zayn politely declined, shooting Niall an inquisitive look before he entered the ring.

Later, when they were back at Niall's flat, Zayn took to the task of getting behind this whole mysterious coincidence. "Niall mate, are you dating the yoga teacher?" he asked, not wasting time on minor stuff.

Niall blushed slightly due to the bluntness of Zayn's question. "Maybe," he answered cautiously.   
How ridiculous. When had all this disaster become full circle?  
Niall looked at him curious. "How do you even know Harry? That is not your regular gym..."

Zayn snorted. Great. "He's a co-worker of a friend of mine. I know him barely." Technically speaking it wasn't a lie.

On Friday Zayn was ready to speak with Liam again, who thankfully hadn't been pushy and hadn't written him after his text on Sunday.  
_/Hey,/_ he began, reluctantly. / _Things with Lou haven't been great. Maybe talk to him?/_  
Because what else should he tell Liam? He was still angry at Louis and that wouldn't go away very soon. They should resolve their stuff on their own. For now, he wanted really no part in it.  
  
A few minutes later Liam texted back.   
_/Okay./_  
Uncharacteristically minimal.  
Whatever, Zayn thought, downing his leftover mug of tea.  
Niall instantly replaced his mug with a tumbler of whiskey.   
"Stop moping around. It's Friday. Let's have some fun," Niall complained a bit whiny. Granted, Zayn had been not good company all week long.

"Cheers." Zayn clinked their glasses together, with the resolution of having fun again for the first time in five days. One could only be mope for a certain period of time.


	15. Chapter 15

Louis was a mess.  
On Sunday he had cried his eyes out, rolling up in a ball on his side of the bed, alone.   
He had cried himself to sleep and had woken up several hours later with a pounding headache and itching eyes. After making himself a cuppa he had wasted the day away watching some crime series he couldn't even remember the title of. His mind had been just blank with the sound of Zayn slamming the door shut on repeat.

Monday morning had been very horrible too. In his sleepy state he had wondered why there was no used mug in the sink until it hit him that Zayn hadn't been around this morning.   
Work had been horrible; his dinner had tasted like cardboard. Good god, he hated himself to be so dependable on the company of his flatmate.

Tuesday was the same. Just another day spent wallowing in self-pity.

On Wednesday he went jogging in the evening in an attempt to make himself feel better. It barely worked, but at least he didn’t feel like bursting into tears any moment anymore.

Thursday he marginally felt better, the unbearable sadness and despair giving way to raw anger. Zayn could not just leave him alone for more than half a week without a word, he just couldn't! How irresponsible of him to not tell him where he went to or anything at all!  
"Wanker!" he shouted in a particular heated second.   
When his fury subsided a bit after that, he inhaled through gritted teeth, defeated. Why was it always him? Didn’t he deserve to be happy, too? What was it about him that made everyone important leave him?!  
  
Friday evening, a text from Liam came.  
_/Let's talk? I'll be at yours in 30?/_  
The tone was uncharacteristically commanding for Liam, but Louis was so done with everything that he only typed back a short / _fine./_  and left it at that.  
  
Exactly half an hour later, Liam arrived at Louis’ flat.  
When the doorbell rang, Louis let out another sigh and opened the door.

"Hey," Liam greeted him softly, trying to make eye contact and failing because Louis really could not do that right now. He led the way to the kitchen table and busied himself with making tea, avoiding looking at Liam at all costs. He felt very uncomfortable right now, ashamed and sad.

"Sooo," Liam began hesitantly, "Zayn's not here?" Louis shook his head silently. God, why did he agree to this?

"Ok then," Liam tried, in an insecure tone. "First of all: let me tell you," he began anew, "I do really like you." Louis had to swallow audibly, a lump forming in his throat. "But I don't think we can keep going as it is right now."

Oh no. No, no, no. Louis felt his face heating up, his eyes began itching again. Liam would happily ride off into the sunset with Zayn, leaving Louis behind like a distant memory. It was the same as with _them_ all over again. Why was he never enough? Why did everyone decide sooner or later that he just wasn’t worth the hassle? Louis had known right from the start that this whole relationship business was a mistake. He had _known_ that Liam would make him fall for him. And now Liam was leaving. And even worse, he would take Zayn with him. This time around, Louis wouldn’t even have his best friend with him to mend his broken heart. He was going to be all alone, alone, alone, alone…

  
"Maybe we all need some distance, yeah?" he heard Liam’s voice in the distance. Liam was staring at his hands, completely oblivious to the hurt expression on Louis' face and the tears gathering in his eyes.

Louis drew in a few fast shaky breaths, trying to not lose it completely and making a fool of himself.  
"If you think that, then please go," he croaked, gaze fixed on the floor. If he looked at Liam now he would undoubtedly burst out in tears and he would rather keep his last shred of dignity.

Liam nodded silently and left for the door. And Louis heard the door falling shut on him. Again.  
Now, he was truly alone.  
Zayn had left him and after no life signs for five days, Louis doubted that he would ever return to him and now Liam called quits on their 'relationship'. Wow. He really was great at fucking things up.  
His legs gave out and he sank to the floor, full on crying again.  
What a shitty life this was.


	16. Chapter 16

Two whiskeys in, Zayn's mood was getting better steadily and Niall decided to call Harry over.

"You sure I'm not disturbing?" Zayn asked for the third time. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but he was still sulky and he wasn't sure if he could cope with their lovey-dovey behaviour.

"Nah mate, Harry's cool. Let's just take your mind off things with some board games. I love meself a good board game," Niall answered, eyes twinkling. Zayn knew that Niall could be a bit weird at times, but well... who was he to judge?  
After ending the call with Harry, Niall ordered food for them. Zayn  hadn’t taken Harry for a person who enjoyed drinking alcohol and eating greasy takeaway, but maybe his first impression had been wrong. Hopefully it was, because Zayn definitely wasn't up for kale or other weird green food.  
  
Harry came around 20 minutes later with an IKEA bag full of board games.  
"So this wasn't a weird euphemism for something else ..." Zayn mumbled under his breath. Niall only raised an eyebrow at him and helped Harry with the bag.   
When Harry put down the Monopoly on the table and Niall set down another round of Whiskeys, Zayn knew the game was on. Harry made it through half his glass before giving up and finally admitting "That's not for me," in a very sober and gravel voice. Niall looked at him fondly and immediately ran into the kitchen to get Harry something different. Okay, what was Zayn getting himself into here? If those two were going to be making heart eyes at each other the whole night he would have to throw up. Thankfully the bell rang and Zayn went to get it, paying for the food.   
  
When Harry had utterly destroyed both of them in Monopoly, they proceeded to Uno. Mainly because Zayn und Niall were so drunk by now, that they would instantly lose to a fired up Harry at other games.   
When they had moved to the couch Harry drawled out: "One second. Since I'm obviously great at board games, I need an incentive to play properly with you drunkards." Niall squawked a bit at him, Zayn just shook his head. Harry went on grinning, "When you lose, you have to remove a piece of clothing." Zayn took a double take. Not that he technically had anything against seeing them both naked, but well ...  
Niall visibly braced himself and nodded then. "Good" Harry said, smiling graciously.   
  
After round 7, Niall and Zayn had both lost 3 times and Harry once. That left Niall and Zayn in their underwear and one sock.

This is just so ridiculous, Zayn thought. Thankfully Zayn was pissed enough to not be annoyed by Niall basically eating Harry with his eyes. Harry the fucker definitely knew his power over Niall, over them really, because he caught Zayn staring as well…

After Zayn and Niall both lost another round and were now only in their underwear, Harry called it quits to preserve their very last bit of dignity, as he said. But of course it didn't end there. Harry took the empty Whiskey bottle, put it on the ground and spun it. Niall had excused himself, tipsily wobbling to the loo.

Of course, the bottle stopped at Zayn straight away. Harry let his eyes roam over Zayn's chest, a small smirk on his lips. Harry moved in slowly, giving Zayn time to stop him, if he wanted to. The problem was, Zayn didn't want to stop Harry. He really revelled in the attention he got from Harry.   
Harry's kiss was slow and sweet. He moved back to his place and Niall came back again.  
Zayn waited for the guilt to set in, but there was nothing. He moped around and felt so horribly lonely that he probably just craved affection.  
When it was Zayn's turn to spin the bottle it landed on Niall. Zayn looked in Niall's eyes, unsure. Niall smiled slowly, in a kind way. Encouraged, Zayn shuffled closer to his friend, cradling Niall's face with his right hand, kissing him softly. Harry gently smiled at them both.   
A warm feeling spread in Zayn's belly, partially plain affection and partially something different.  
It was Niall's time to spin. He got Harry.   
Their kiss was very, very sweet and even got Zayn quite jealous. It made him miss the comfortable and familiar kisses he shared with Louis. Sure, kissing new people was exciting and always a thrill, but there was something unbelievably comforting about the way Louis would melt against his lips with practised ease, neither of them needing to think about how to kiss each other.

The next second, Zayn's phone rang. He didn't expect anyone to call him, especially not Liam, but curiosity got the best of him and he just answered, "Liam?"  
Niall hushed Harry's chatter momentarily.  
"I talked to Louis," Liam said, sounding ... not good.

Zayn closed his eyes for a second, taking a breath, "And?"

After a short pause Liam continued, "He didn't take it so well and said I should leave."

Zayn wasn't really sure what to make of this so he had to inquire. "What exactly did you say to him?"

"Err well, I told him that I really do like him but we can't go on like this and maybe we all need some distance," Liam ended, sounding as horrible as Zayn felt.

"You bloody idiot!" Zayn had to count to ten, to get his agitation under control. "Right. Liam, you wait and don't you dare hang up on me!" he said in a commanding tone into the phone. "Niall, call me a cab," he said to his friend, ignoring Harry's questioning glance.

"Now. Tell me exactly how he reacted," Zayn ordered Liam. God, he was too drunk to deal with this shit, but he was really fearing for Louis' safety here...

"He was just a ... a mess? He seemed kind of on autopilot and spoke in a hushed tone, maybe he was crying when I left? I don't know... Zayn I just meant for all of us to take a break, I really didn't mean..." his voice trailed off and Zayn interjected: "I don't care what you meant or didn't mean! You trigged his trauma, you idiot!" He knew he was being unfair, because Liam couldn’t possibly have known about this, but that idiot just had to go and use almost the same words that had broken Louis’ heart the first time.

Niall mouthed at him 'in ten' and Zayn acknowledged. "I'll hang up now. And you better think of what you did to him!" he said, ending the call promptly.   
In haste he packed his bag, thanking Niall for enduring him the past week and said goodbye to Harry.  
Downstairs the cab was already waiting for him. Zayn felt queasy trying to imagine Louis alone in their flat now, his mind conjuring up all kinds of horror scenarios: Louis vanishing completely without leaving a trace, Louis choking during a panic attack, Louis lying lifelessly on the kitchen floor… Zayn nervously raked his fingers through his hair as the guilt began setting in. All of this was his fault… If only he hadn’t left Louis alone in a fucked up attempt to punish him for his neediness. Liam might not have known, but Zayn was very much aware of Louis insecurities concerning relationships and he still went and abandoned him. God, he really was a shitty human being, wasn’t he? He’d be surprised if Louis and Liam wanted anything to do with him after all of this… Dread churned deep inside his stomach as he got inside the cab. Hopefully, not everything was lost yet.


	17. Chapter 17

Louis felt numb and raw at the same time, skin itching from the tear stains on his cheeks.  
When his bum touched the floor, he hadn't even noticed that his legs had given out under him. Louis had no energy, no will left. A gut wrenching sob freed itself from his throat, sounding too loud and rough in the silence of the flat. Suddenly images of him and _them_ rose up again from the depth of his memories. Their faces were blurry and the only sharp thing in view were his moving boxes, his favourite mug on the counter in the kitchen the only thing left to pack - the mug he had just destroyed in a surge of anger as Zayn left.

Zayn. Louis tasted bile on his tongue and barely made it to the bathroom. It was hard, moving with no energy. He hadn't eaten much that day, hadn't drank that much either. After vomiting for the second time, dry heaving and only spitting out bile, he sank back beside the toilet, blankly staring, vision unfocused. Why? He didn't understand. Why did he always mess up? Why couldn't he behave like everyone else? Why couldn't he be likeable? Why was he such a mess? Why was he so needy?   
Louis curled in on himself, pulling his knees to his upper body, trying to vanish on the spot. He still felt like crying but his body simply wouldn't let him. There were no tears left.

When the cab stopped in front of their building, Zayn rushed out of the car, thankful that Niall had already paid the driver beforehand.   
Running up the stairs, he made short work of the door lock. ‘Fuck!’ Zayn thought when there was no light on in the flat, no sound to be heard. "Lou!" he called, panicking. What if Louis had left?

Or maybe he was still in the kitchen, right where Liam probably left him? But he only found two mugs of cold tea. After checking the bedroom and the living room, Zayn’s panic grew and grew, the scenes from the car back in his head.   
Finally he noticed the open bathroom door. When he opened it wider, he almost didn't see Louis, curled in on himself, beside the toilet. He looked so small, so empty. Zayn instantly hated himself. "Lou," he whispered, crouching down beside the small bundle of a human. He hesitated just for a second before he lay his hand carefully on Louis' arm. The contact made Louis stir, slowly turning his head into Zayn’s view.

His whole face was red and puffy, his gaze unfocused and his eyes empty. Louis' lips quivered.   
Zayn. If Louis had enough spirit left, he would have laughed bitterly. His mind was great in making up things. Really, it was. Why would Zayn be here? After he behaved that shitty, making Zayn leave. Making Zayn so angry that he didn't even text in 5 days.

Zayn took a deep breath. He had anticipated that Louis would be in a bad place, but this, this was far worse than he had thought. He just wanted his bright and cheerful Louis back.  
Carefully he wrapped Louis up in his arms, moving his hand along Louis' arm soothingly, kissing his brow. "Lou. It's me, Zayn. I'm home. I won't leave you again."  
When Louis felt the embrace and the soothing touches, he thought, maybe, just maybe, he wasn't hallucinating. There was a soft voice near his ear, speaking to him.  
"Darling please, come back. I'm here now," Zayn tried again, after a brief pause.  
His eyes were stinging. He wasn't generally an easy crier, but this, this was emotionally draining. He never wished to see Louis like this again, never ever again.

Louis tried to focus on the voice, his vision still a bit blurry, but slowly focusing, and tried to snuggle closer to the warmth of the other person.   
"Zayn," he tried to say, his throat raw and his lips as dry as parchment paper. There was no sound, just the movement of his lips.   
"Zayn," he tried again.   
The second time Zayn noticed that Louis tried to say something and encouraged him:  
"Yes. I'm here Lou. Come back to me."   
  
When the realisation finally made it through the thick molasses of Louis' thoughts a croaky sop escaped his lips. He shuffled in Zayn’s embrace, trying to wrap his arms around Zayn in a real hug. There were still no tears, but the sobbing grew louder and more desperate.   
"Shh, it's fine now. I'm here," Zayn said soothingly, rubbing one hand up and down Louis' back.

After another few minutes, when Louis' sobs had quieted down again, Zayn helped Louis back onto his feet and led him to their living room, bundling him up in a blanket. "I'll be back in a sec, I'm just going to make some tea for us, kay?" he asked, carefully. Louis nodded weakly. He'd prefer Zayn to stay in this room, but his throat hurt and tea was a good idea.

When Zayn came back, Louis was staring into the distance again.   
"Don't go there again. Stay with me," Zayn said firmly while setting down their mugs.   
Louis snapped out of it the instant Zayn called to him, taking his mug and sipping on it carefully. Zayn sat down beside him, cradling his neck with one hand softly.  
"Please, don't leave me," Louis pleaded silently, staring at the table. He was barely keeping it together, spacing out more often than not.   
He was so lucky to have Zayn back, and he definitely didn't know how he deserved it.

Zayn cursed himself. How the fuck could he be so stupid to leave Louis, leave him thinking that he wouldn't come back again. Stupid. Stupid! He had to fix this. Taking Louis' face in both his hands, forcing him to look into Zayn’s face. He looked directly into Louis eyes, firmly but gently reassuring him: "Listen. I'm not going to leave you. It was my fault in the first place. I knew that you never really got over the trauma you got from _them_. There is no excuse for what I did. Please don't believe that you don't deserve this. Don't deserve to be happy. Because you do, Lou. You really do. We belong together here, we belong together and I'm happy to have you." Zayn was telling the truth. That was how he felt deep down, and he cursed himself. He cursed the fact that he so rarely told Louis. He couldn't be without Louis, and Louis couldn’t be without him.   
"I need you. I need you here, with me. So stay here, don't go to a bad place again. Promise me"   
  
Louis was still feeling empty, but the tea helped against the cold he was feeling and Zayn’s fierce look and his words helped Louis to properly focus again on the here and now. His ears rang from the spoken words. Zayn said he needed him. Was he sure? How could he be so sure about it?  
Louis had to swallow the lump in his throat before he tried to speak, "How can you be so sure?"   
  
How he could be so sure? Zayn had thought up all that horrible things that could have happened to Louis while he was in the cab, his gut filling with dread. He had thought about Louis dead on the floor. Never had he felt so terrified.   
"Because, Lou, you are the most important person to me. I can't picture my life without you."

Louis didn't know what to say. A warm feeling was spreading through him, the cold subsiding slowly.   
He was still hurt, still a bit empty, but he also felt alive again. What could he reply to this? Nothing. He just nodded slowly. That had to be enough.

Zayn wrapped his arms again around Louis, full body hugging him, to try and show him. How could he make Louis believe? It took only a few minutes to destroy a lot of trust and good things they had   
built up, but repairing everything, patching up Louis' broking heart, would probably take a long, long time. Zayn was willing to make it work. He had to, had to put Louis together again, to see him smile again. But for now, he had to nurse his body back to health again, before he could concentrate on his heart.   
"Let's get some food in you, yeah?" he asked, smiling softly.  
Louis just nodded again.

A few minutes later, Zayn had ordered stew and both of them sat in the living room, Peter Pan playing on Netflix, a teapot full of peppermint tea in front of them. Soon, Louis was on his second cup of tea, slowly eating his stew, and Zayn was happy to see the colour return to his cheeks.

After the movie had ended, Zayn went to the bathroom with Louis, brushing their teeth together in companionable silence and after that to bed, trying not the leave him on his own for more than a few seconds.   
  
When they lay in bed, Zayn wrapped Louis up in his arms again with Louis' head pillowed comfortably on his chest. Soon Louis' soft breathing filled the silence of their bedroom and Zayn fell asleep shortly after.


	18. Chapter 18

When Louis woke up Saturday morning, Zayn was hugging him still. His head hurt and his heart hurt. On one hand he wanted to cling to Zayn, keep lying here in his arms as long as possible, on the other hand he wanted to move away, trying not to be that needy. Caught up in his internal struggle, he only noticed Zayn stirring when he blinked sleepily at him.

"Morning Lou," Zayn mumbled, still drowsy and smiled, hugging Louis tighter.   
"You don't have to, you know,” Louis said in a small voice.  
Zayn frowned, "I know, I want to."

Louis was still a bit stiff, so Zayn untangled himself from him so he wouldn't make him more uncomfortable. Zayn had to devise some kind of plan to show Louis that he still cared about him and try to build up their trust again. Carefully, he knocked their foreheads together and took Louis' hands in his.

"Listen, you are important to me. You and me against the world, yeah? Always. I shouldn't have left you alone like this. But I'm here now."  
Louis closed his eyes, struggling with tears. "5 days Zayn, 5 days. I didn't even know if you were okay." He had been so worried.   
Whenever Louis hadn't wallowed in self-pity he had worried about Zayn.  
Zayn had to swallow. Yeah that had been a shit move. "I'm sorry…”

Louis looked him back in the eyes. "I was worried sick, you know?" He wasn't even angry at Zayn, how could he be? He had behaved like a total prick and didn't deserve that Zayn was here in the first place...   
Zayn gently kissed his brow, "Let's take a shower and grab some breakfast after?" he suggested in an attempt to apologise again. Louis nodded and let himself be dragged to the bathroom.

In the shower Zayn gently washed his hair and wrapped him in a hug again, dropping gentle kisses to the top of his head and temple, murmuring, "You are very important to me, please never forget that."  
Zayn also dried Louis with a fluffy towel after. It was nice, having someone taking care of him when his body and mind where so exhausted.

When Zayn looked in the fridge, Louis blushed slightly since it was almost empty. "Lou ... have you been eating at all this week?!" Zayn asked alarmed.   
"Tesco sandwiches," Louis answered almost inaudibly. Zayn sighed deeply, "Let's get dressed then and get some proper food in you."  
  
Outside Louis breathed in the fresh air. The weather these past few days had been grey and rainy, fitting to his mood, but today the sun was shining. Zayn closed the door behind them, a few steps behind Louis. When Zayn turned around with the sun behind him his features glowed, the sun forming a little halo. Louis snorted, how cheesy were his thoughts, ridiculous. Zayn cocked an eyebrow, "Wha?"

Louis grinned, a bit more confident now. "You just looked like some kind of deity with the light behind you, is all," and blushed slightly.  
Zayn chuckled, "I’ll just take this as a compliment," and smirked, reaching for Louis' hand. Louis ducked his head shy, for fucks sake when had he become so easy to embarrass?  
 He took Zayn's hand nonetheless.

 In the café both ordered a full English. Louis had thought he wasn't hungry, with his headache and all, but he had been wrong. His stomach grumbled loudly when they entered the cafe and his headache had been cured by the fresh air and the shower before.   
After their tea arrived, Zayn visibly braced himself. "Listen Lou, when Li visited you he wanted to tell you to take as much time as you need if you are uncomfortable with the whole relationship business."

When Louis heard Liam's name, he had to set down his cup. For one brief moment he had almost felt good again, with Zayn in the cafe, the sun shining and his heart not aching as much anymore, but then Zayn had been so kind to remind him of his utter failure.  
"At no point had he thought about leaving us," he told Louis, even though it left a bitter taste on his tongue. He felt shit about bringing it up so soon, but he was afraid of tearing up Louis' wound when it began to heal again. Better getting it over with soon. "I told him how wrong he was about telling you in this way and he won't hurt you any further. In fact I will make sure that he won't hurt you at all," Zayn said with grim determination. He liked Liam, he really did, but Louis came first. He was so stupid to realise it that late. Louis really was the most important thing to him.

Louis tried to swallow around the lump in his throat, failing miserably, probably gaping stupidly too. When Louis looked down at the table, Zayn took his hand smiling reassuringly at him. Louis tried to reciprocate, but wasn't sure he was succeeding. Did he destroy their relationship? Did Zayn choose him over Liam? Did he destroy the good connection between Liam and Zayn? He didn't know but he couldn't find the courage to ask.

 Their food arrived soon after and Louis began eating reluctantly. Thankfully his mood didn’t spoil his appetite that much, his body needed energy.

Later, they took a stroll in the park, sitting down on a bench in the sun. Louis tried to gather the last bits of courage he had left and asked, clenching his hands, "Did you end this ... thing with Liam?"

Zayn didn't look at him when he answered, "No. I just told him off… Well, maybe a bit shouting was involved, too."  
Louis let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, "Good." Was it though? He was relieved that he hadn't destroyed the bond between Liam and Zayn, on the other hand he was jealous, but he didn't know of what exactly. The attention Liam got from Zayn or the attention Liam gave Zayn?

"Right, let's get back. I think you should rest a bit before we go topping up that sad specimen of a fridge at home," Zayn said, getting up, looking like he was deep in thought.   
He wasn't sure how to solve this mess, but a proper talk was in order. The only problem was, he really didn't want Louis and Liam in the same room after what happened. Louis now knew, but that wasn't enough. Liam had to apologise and well make amends for his fault. And until Zayn had a concrete idea about what that really meant, he'd rather prefer to have Louis to himself, to try and mend together the broken pieces of Louis he had started to tape together.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys~
> 
> since I'll be on holiday on Sunday, I'm gonna post the new chapter today, before I leave tomorrow for Italy ;3  
> I hope you like it <3

Monday.  
From the outside Louis was looking like a proper human again and his co-workers had finally stopped looking at him like he might burst into tears any moment. Zayn, however, was still walking on eggshells around him. He hated it. He HATED it so much. Louis still felt like shit, but he couldn’t stand Zayn treating him like this. Granted, he liked that Zayn payed so much attention to him, took care of him after his breakdown. But Zayn was his best friend, dammit! And Zayn treating him like a broken thing – which he was, but he didn’t need to be reminded of that every second, thank you very much – just felt wrong to Louis. Zayn was supposed to be his partner in crime, not his nurse.

During tea Louis almost snapped, but reminded himself at the last moment that his stupid temper tantrums landed him in this mess to begin with. Louis took a deep breath and after slowly counting to 10 he breathed out and began talking: “Look Zayn, I really appreciate what you are doing for me, I really do. But please, stop treating me like I’m broken, or on the verge of ending it or something.”

There, that wasn’t so bad. Zayn looked at him blankly. Louis had to swallow down the lump forming in his throat. Don’t panic, you just told him you’re okay, he thought.

Zayn took his hand and looked him in the eye. “Lou, maybe we should talk properly? It’s hard on me too.” Zayn gestured between them. “You know, this whole thing.”

Louis looked away promptly. Talk. Great idea. He huffed, defeated. “Yeah, okay. Let’s finish the food and then I’m gonna make a cuppa.” Better get it over with …

A few minutes later, both sat down on the couch, each a cup of tea in their hands.   
Zayn had had this talk in his head going round and round at work today. He couldn’t help it, they had to talk.

“Okay. I want you to listen and not be mad or anything, yeah?” Zayn confirmed, Louis nodded a stern look on his face.  “First of all, please know that I really love you a lot.” Louis just nodded dismissively. Zayn signed, well what did he expect, really. He should have told Louis earlier, because apparently he didn’t understand. Zayn took Louis’ face in both hands and forced him to look him into the eye.

“Lou. You don’t understand. I do love you.” Zayn hoped that Louis would get it this time. Louis just stared back, a somewhat confused look in his eyes. This was unnerving. Zayn had already played out the various scenarios in his head, but he really hoped that Louis reciprocated his feelings and wasn’t just in this for the admittedly great sex. It took a few seconds before the cogs started to turn in Louis’ head, Zayn almost could hear it click.

“Zayn …” Louis croaked out.

Zayn knocked their foreheads together softly in response. “Yeah,” he whispered.

Louis closed his eyes and did the only logical thing and pressed their lips together in a soft kiss, softer than they ever did. His brain was a whirlwind of unsorted thoughts and memories. All this time?  
When they ended the kiss, Louis had so many question, but he just blurted out the one that seemed to be the most pressing one: “Since when?”

Zayn snorted. “Really now, that is what concerns you the most? I don’t really know, probably always? I just didn’t realise that I wanted a proper relationship, really. Your breakdown taught me differently.” A bitter tone creeped into his voice at the end of the sentence. He still couldn’t shake the thoughts he had had on the way back from Niall’s. Never before in his life had he felt so helpless. What did it say about him that he needed to almost loose Louis to get his priorities straight?

Louis laughed humourlessly. “Isn’t it strange? I’ve always searched for something I couldn’t have, tried to fill this stupid hole in my heart that they tore, but you were always right in front of me …” Tears pricked in the corner of this eyes. Stupid. Stupid! If his walls weren’t crumbling already he would have just laughed it off, because it was so silly. He felt like a bloody rom-com heroine.

All the little pieces Louis had puzzled together with Zayn’s help the past few days were falling out again. It wasn't a breakdown, but Louis was full-on crying again, sobbing into Zayn’s t-shirt. Zayn just held him tightly, soothingly running his hands over Louis’ back and through his hair. After a while, the flood of Louis’ tears ebbed away and Zayn gave him a tissue to blow his nose.

“Okay, we’re done with that now,” Louis croaked with a teary smile on his red face. Zayn tiled Louis’ head up gently and pressed another sweet kiss to his lips. Louis kissed him back softly.   
Zayn changed their position on the couch slightly and made Louis sit between his legs, one arm wrapped around his waist and the other tangled with Louis’ hand.

“And now?” Louis asked in a neutral tone

 “Now?” Zayn answered, “Now you know how I feel, how we feel? About each other.” Louis nodded, understanding, pleased.

Zayn’s grip on Louis’ hand tightened slightly, “There’s another thing I’d like to talk to you about.” That was kind of the harder part. This time, it had been Zayn’s and Liam’s fault that Louis’ breakdown had been this bad, but the first time it had happened, because of _them_ , was obviously still messing with Louis and Zayn couldn’t stand the thought that Louis was still hurting from that. “Lou, I thought about that for some time now; would you consider taking up therapy? It pains me to think about how hurt you are still from _them_ leaving you.”

Louis swallowed audibly. He would lie if he’d say he never thought about it, really. Therapy always sounded strange in his head, as if something was really wrong with him, like he was mental or summat. He was not. He was alright, he was normal, was he? He didn’t know anymore.

“I’m not mental,” Louis said in a shaky voice. Zayn suppressed a sigh. He wasn’t surprised by Louis’ reply, not in the slightest.

“No, you are not. Seeing a therapist doesn’t mean you are mental, you know? Niall went to one to get his claustrophobia under control.”

Louis was silent now. He hadn’t even known that Niall had claustrophobia, but what did he know about Niall anyway?

“Promise me to think about it, yeah? You’re not alone in this. I’ll go to a therapist with you, if that helps? You are not mental, you just got hurt very badly and your mind needs to heal. A therapist is just a doctor that specialises on that.”

Louis nodded. He wanted to get better, he really wanted to.

Zayn kissed Louis’ hair and tightened his hug, “Good.” Case closed for now. Zayn knew better then to bring up Liam now as well. He breached two difficult topics for today, their feelings for each other and a possible therapy for Louis. That had to be enough.

After watching some cartoons on Netflix, both went to bed, since they had the rest of the week ahead of them and Louis really needed the sleep, exhausting himself with crying again today.

Tomorrow would be a better day, it had to be. Zayn could almost feel it in his bones. Confessing had been a good decision.


	20. Chapter 20

The next few days went by in a blur. Zayn and Louis had always laughed at overly happy couples and their rose-coloured glasses and shit, but bloody hell some weird kind of honeymoon phase had hit them hard over the past few days.

Obviously they only saw each other in the evenings, but Zayn had taken to preparing a proper breakfast for them both, so Louis always found a well-laid table waiting for him in the morning and the thought of Zayn lovingly preparing it just for him always made him smile. The evenings were full of giggling Louis and smiling Zayn, god they were so horrible! Thankfully no one saw them and could make fun of them.

On Friday their good mood took a sudden turn when Zayn got a text from an unknown number.

_/Harry here. Niall gave me your number, I hope that was okay? I don’t know what happened, but Liam is moping at work all the time, and I can’t take it anymore. Maybe you can do something about it?  
X H/_

When the text reached Zayn, they were both in the kitchen cooking together, listening to Greg James babbling on Radio 1. Zayn dried his hands on a towel and fumbled his phone out of his jeans.   
The serene smile on his face slowly slid off when he read the message.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asked scrunching his face up in a confused face, seeing Zayn’s expression. Zayn wordlessly passed the phone on to Louis. Louis’ expression went from surprised to sour.

“Who the hell signs his text with an X and the first letter of his first name? That’s so stupid.”

Zayn snorted, typically Louis.

“What are we going to do?” Louis asked, sounding rather insecure.

Yeah, what were they going to do? Zayn hadn’t forgotten his promise to have Liam make amends for hurting Louis that badly. Now, after gaining some distance, he still thought that Liam had to apologise properly, but wasn’t so harsh in his assessment anymore. “Naturally, he has to apologise to you.”

Louis snorted. Zayn had always been ridiculously proud and boyfriend Zayn was even more unbearable. If Louis hadn’t been that hurt, he maybe would have felt sorry for Liam. Well, he didn’t.   
Zayn texted Harry back, to tell Liam if he properly apologised to Louis they could be on a talking basis again. And that was it.

On Sunday afternoon, after Zayn and Louis had just come back from the gym, their doorbell rang. Louis hopped up from the couch, opening the door. Liam stood in front of him, dressed impeccably in a suit, with a huge bouquet and an expensive looking bakery box under the other arm. Liam fidgeted with the flowers and visibly flinched under Louis’ scrutinizing gaze. Louis gave him his best unimpressed look (even though he had to admit that Liam cleaned up very nicely) and beckoned Liam to come in. His mind had been at peace, wrung out from training but now his emotions and thoughts were in turmoil again, how unpleasant.

In the kitchen he put the kettle on, fixing three cups of tea and set the kitchen table with plates. Liam was still removing his shoes and hanging up his coat. Zayn joined Louis in the kitchen, wrapping one arm around Louis’ middle and pressing a kiss to his temple when Liam entered. Liam looked away shyly. Before, Zayn had been endeared by Liam’s shy behaviour but now he was just annoyed by it.

 

“Please sit down,” Louis invited Liam to the table.

 

“I-I brought you flowers. I know that this is not enough, but please take them,” Liam handed the flowers over to a disgruntled Louis. Louis had to admit that the gesture was sweet, but he was not one of Liam’s bloody girls, for fucks sake.

 

Liam sat down his bakery box and distributed cupcakes to them. Another sickeningly sweet gesture. Louis tsked. Zayn placed his hand on Louis’, providing a calming anchor. Right. He couldn’t let his temper get the better of him again. Maybe he should ask his potential therapist about his anger issues too. He hadn’t been aware of it before, but maybe that was a problem too, him being too snappy.

 

“Right,” Louis sighed, sitting down on the opposite site from Liam, beside Zayn, “I guess we need to talk too.”

 

Liam looked a bit confused. Ah yes, maybe that was not kind, but it was better to mention it.

 

“Zayn confessed to me. We love each other, always have.” Liam nodded. “No, Liam. We love each other. We decided to try a proper relationship together.” When it clicked for Liam, he made a silent O-sound. “Yeah,” Louis continued. “So, what did you want to say?”

 

Liam shook his head, maybe to get back to his original track of thought. “I wanted to apologise to you. It wasn’t my place to say something so stupid, I just assumed that maybe you weren’t ready or something. I thought time would solve the problem, clearly that wasn’t the case and I was just not understanding enough. I hope you can forgive me and I hope that I have not done any permanent damage.”

 

What a well prepared speech that was. This time, Louis was more on the side of endeared than annoyed. Liam had most likely gutted himself over this, being miserable all the time. Poor Harry. Louis sighed deeply. He was still hurt, could still remember how it had broken him, but Liam was just such a stupid puppy.

 

“In my great kindness, I will forgive you. Now get your head up and eat.” He wasn’t sure if he was angry at himself, worried about what Zayn would think or just happy that Liam was back in reach. Zayn still had a scowl on his face and eyed Liam warily. Wasn’t he cute like this?

 

While they ate, none of them said another word and later, Liam left after a few empty phrases of goodbye.

 

Weird. That was how it felt. Louis had thought he would still be angry with Liam and happy to have Zayn by his side, but strangely that wasn’t it? He missed having this stupid huge and built puppy around. He loved Zayn, he now knew that it was mutual, romantic love and it was great. They had been in a weird, kind of hands-off situation, none of them feeling quite ready to explore the more carnal aspects of their new relationship. Maybe it was because their relationship had revolved around sex for so long until now? Maybe it just hadn’t been the right time so soon after Louis’ breakdown and the realisation of their feelings, but somehow having Liam back in the discussion filled Louis with warmth, not only in his heart, but in his lower regions too.

 

Later in bed his goodnight kiss with Zayn was more heated and he felt the same weird eagerness in Zayn’s kiss too. Maybe they had another thing to talk about tomorrow.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody :>
> 
> sorry for being late!  
> That's the last story-chapter :3  
> Yes, I know, according to the index it's supposed to be 24 chapters ...  
> I was planning to write some smut bonus chapters :D  
> But I don't know if I will be able to uploade those according to the usual schedule v.v  
> So bear with me a bit longer and enjoy the last chapter!

Monday evening.  
They could note down Mondays for big talks, it seemed.

When Zayn closed the door after them, both started to talk almost in unison.

“Zayn, you do the talking,” Louis snorted and prompted Zayn to start first.

“The goodnight kiss yesterday …” he trailed off.

“Yeah,” Louis just confirmed, blushing a bit. So Zayn had noticed it, too.

“It was Liam’s presence, wasn’t it?”

Louis nodded. “Weird, isn’t it?” Maybe weird wasn’t the right word to put it …

“Do you feel it still?” Zayn asked, his tone a bit breathy.

Louis licked his lips. “Actually” he said and moved in, pulling Zayn closer by grabbing his wrist. Louis’ breath prickled hot on Zayn’s lips.

“Weren’t we supposed to talk?” Zayn mustered weakly before Louis shut him up with an eager kiss. Definitely, their fire was back and with force. Louis slammed him back against the door, ravishing his mouth with his tongue. When they broke apart to suck in fresh air needy, Louis sighed a little bit dreamily. “Shower?” Zayn asked smirking. After work he’d rather take a shower than getting their sheets all sweaty. Louis nodded, his pupils blown wide.

The shower was pleasantly warm, the water glistening beautifully on Zayn’s darker skin. It made Louis breathless. How had he never noticed this beauty before? Sure, he had always thought that Zayn was hot, but this was so much different. He couldn’t believe that Zayn was his.

“You are so beautiful,” Louis breathed out, tracing Zayn’s ribs with his fingers.

Zayn smiled softly. “Look at you,” he said, “already so hard for me.” Louis did not blush. He did not. And he stood his ground, still holding eye contact with Zayn. Zayn took one finger and scratched slowly but deep along Louis’ thigh, seeing the fire in Louis’ eyes in response. Louis himself moved his hand slowly up Zayn’s chest, leaving three red marks in his wake, bowing down and licking over it before taking Zayn’s nipple in his mouth. They worked themselves up slowly, by inflicting scratches on each other and savouring the reaction from the other.

After a few minutes both were rock hard and scratches littered their bodies, burning under the spray of the water. Zayn began stroking them both with his hand in a slow, luxurious pace. Louis walked Zayn back against the tiles of the shower, proceeding to bite Zayn’s lip and tangling their tongues in a hot and lazy kiss. Zayn snaked his other hand to Louis’ bum and when he so much as touched Louis’ hole, both came, moaning in the kiss before breaking apart.

After catching their breath and starting to clean-up, Louis cleared his throat. “Right. I don’t know how you feel about chatting Liam back up, but I think it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.” He looked away a bit embarrassed.

Zayn chuckled. “Yeah, if you’re okay with it.”  
That had been easy. It looked like both of them had still a thing going on for Liam.

After dinner, both sat down in front of the TV. Zayn had agreed on Louis’ plan to surprise Liam after work, when he had not much of a chance to escape them. First of all they needed information about Liam’s working hours, so Zayn texted Harry.

_/Hi Haz, is Liam working tomorrow?/_

It took a while ‘till Harry answered and Zayn was so shocked that he almost dropped his phone. “This is ridiculous,” he said and placed the phone in Louis’ lap.

The message read:   
_/Hey there. I swear to god, if you break his heart one more time, I will break your bones. Treat people with what they deserve, I say. He’s working normal shift tomorrow._

_Don’t fuck up whatever you plan, or I will come after you. So god help me.  
H/_

Louis snorted, “What was that about?” Good question. “Aaanyway, let’s just surprise him tomorrow at the bus stop.” Zayn nodded and the plan was in motion.

The next day, both tried to finish work on time to catch the same bus as Liam. Maybe it was fate, maybe it was just a shower that was weirdly timed or just the usual rubbish London weather, but whatever it was, Zayn und Louis were completely drenched when they reached the bus stop, their wet clothes leaving not much to the imagination. Then, Liam approached, protected by a proper umbrella, looking in their direction but not seeing them. Liam folded his umbrella and moved under the bus shelter.

“Hey gorgeous,” Zayn almost purred laying one hand on Liam’s biceps.

“Hey handsome,” Louis piped from the other side, laying one hand on the lower part of Liam’s other arm. Liam just looked up surprised, removing the earbuds of his phone from his ears.

“Would you be interested in dating us?” Zayn asked outright, still in his seductive voice, blinking slowly under his long lashes.

“Uhm,” Liam replied, very eloquent. Now Louis plastered himself against Liam’s side, consequently making him wet, but letting him feel everything: his warm chest under the wet shirt, his hard nipples and his slightly bulged skinnies. Liam blushed, of course he did.

“Lads, nice to see you too,” he said in a shaky voice.

Louis couldn’t take it anymore, he broke out in laughter after hearing Liam’s tone. “God Liam, don’t be so shy, I won’t take your dick into my mouth in a bus shelter! I have some standards!”

Zayn grinned widely and playfully shouted, “Lies!” at Louis.

Liam just didn’t know what to make out of it all. He still wasn’t sure if he fell asleep at work and was dreaming this whole scenario up right now. It was just too good to be true.

Poor Liam, Louis thought. “Harry threatened us with breaking our bones, if we broke your heart again,” Louis said, emphasising the ‘again’.

Liam ducked his head uncomfortably, “Yeah well, after you said on Sunday that you both were in love, I really didn’t think that I stood a chance anymore …”

Louis smacked Liam’s arm gently, “Silly! You’ll always stand a chance, because we both like you.”

“A lot,” Zayn assured him.

Liam looked at them unsure, “Really?”

Louis’ eyes gleamed mischievous, “Oh yes! Somehow just seeing you being weak for us and trying to be all white knight in shining armour got us so worked up, that we had to get each other off in the shower.” The innocent tone of Louis’ voice just killed Liam, and Zayn had so much fun watching Liam turning read and shushing Louis nervously, even though no one was around anyway.

When Liam had it back together, Zayn tried a bit more serious tone. “Honestly, Liam. I know what I said to you on the phone and I stand by it, but Louis forgave you, we fixed his situation somehow and the next step is for him to take up therapy sessions and for you to get back together with us, if you still want to.”

“Of course I want to!” Liam exclaimed quickly, the force behind his words surprising them both. “You can’t imagine how worried I was about Louis after you yelled at me back then! I was worried out of my mind and no one would tell me anything! Harry asked Niall, but he didn’t know and you both didn’t talk to me. I must have been horrible to work with, moping around, waiting for a life sign from one of you. But not talking to me until Harry threatens you just because I’m shit at work isn’t the right way.”

Louis had to hold back tears, AGAIN. That wasn’t how it was supposed to be, how they had planned it. They wanted to surprise their puppy and take him back with them for a round of possibly wild and adventurous sex and worry about all that complicated stuff later. Getting all emotional at a bus stop hadn’t been part of the plan. Zayn held it together quite well, but Louis knew him and saw the cracks in his façade.

After a too long stretch of silence Liam crushed them both in very warm bear hug. “Boys,” he mumbled in Zayn’s hair, “If you want this to work, please talk to me, otherwise I won’t know what’s wrong and how to behave around you. I can’t read your thoughts, alright?”

And both nodded their heads, glad that they were spared the eye contact in this particular situation, because that would probably cost them their last bit of dignity left.

Several minutes later, the bus was still nowhere to be seen.

“Let’s get you home and warmed up, alright? Cab is on me.” It was such a typical Prince Charming move by Liam and Louis had to give in begrudgingly, snuggling into Liam’s warm side, feeling comfortable just there. He hadn’t been happy that Zayn had mentioned his therapy earlier, but maybe honesty was the best way to go from here on now and would provide their relationship with trust to be stable and happy. And if having Liam with them meant even more of these stupidly endearing Prince Charming moments, well, Louis would be the last to complain.  



End file.
